Bobby McFerrin has made relatively few recordings since his hit "Don't Worry, Be Happy." Potentially one of the truly great creative vocalists, McFerrin has flashes of brilliance on this Blue Note CD, including a haunting rendition of Miles Davis' "Selim" (taken from the trumpeter's underrated Live-Evil set), but the singer's original material is generally forgettable.
McFerrin overdubbed extra voices on many selections, which is quite unnecessary considering his range and ability to sing nonstop; he emphasizes dance and R&B rhythms, and there is often little to the songs other than the grooves and the sound of his voice.
In addition, the members of the Yellowjackets are underutilized, although Russell Ferrante co-wrote three of McFerrin's eight songs.
A disappointment.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bang! ZoomRussell Ferrante, Bobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 31 MB |
| 2 | RemembranceRussell Ferrante, Bobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 05:16 | 12 MB | 32 MB |
| 3 | FriendsBobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | SelimMiles Davis | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 04:26 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Freedom Is a VoiceRussell Ferrante, Bobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Heaven's DesignBobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 05:55 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 7 | My Better HalfBobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 04:41 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | Kids' ToysBobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 05:14 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 9 | Mere WordsBobby McFerrin | Bobby McFerrin | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| 45 mins | 104 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 268 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greg Adams | Horn |
| 2 | P.R. Brown | Art Direction, Design |
| 3 | Emilio Castillo | Horn |
| 4 | Steve Cohen | Associate Producer |
| 5 | Paulinho Da Costa | Guest Artist, Percussion |
| 6 | Miles Davis | Composer |
| 7 | Jeff DeMorris | Assistant Engineer |
| 8 | Russell Ferrante | Composer, Piano, Producer, Synthesizer |
| 9 | Bill Gable | Engineer |
| 10 | Linda Goldstein | Executive Producer |
| 11 | Jimmy Haslip | Bass |
| 12 | Paul Jackson, Jr. | Guest Artist, Guitar |
| 13 | William Kennedy | Drums |
| 14 | Stephen "Doc" Kupka | Horn |
| 15 | Rich Lamb | Assistant Engineer |
| 16 | David Luke | Engineer |
| 17 | David Mann | Horn |
| 18 | Bobby McFerrin | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 19 | Judd Miller | Programming |
| 20 | Bob Mintzer | Clarinet (Bass), EWI, Saxophone |
| 21 | Paul Nagel | Fender Rhodes |
| 22 | Malcolm Pollack | Engineer, Mixing |
| 23 | Mark Seliger | Photography |
| 24 | Michael Semanick | Assistant Engineer |
| 25 | Chris Tergesen | Engineer |
| 26 | Lee Thornburg | Horn |
| 27 | Tower of Power Horns | Ensemble, Guest Artist, Horn |
| 28 | Scott Wendholt | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 29 | Yellowjackets | Guest Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |