"I Look Good {An Interview With Bernadette Cooper}" - If there was ever such a thing as female braggadocio, Bern would stand out like stand out like a sore thumb ..... but somehow, you forgive her. LOL ! Full of herself, she's not. She's actually one of the most humblest individual you'd ever want to meet. In her part rap/part spoken word delivery, she interacts with a roving reporter that want to know, why she thinks she look good. Though the instrumentation is basically a straight up groove, it's infectious nonetheless with it's straight ahead jazz like acoustic bass. It works in conjunction with the steady kick drum, and acoustic piano, and Bern's background vocal chants of "I Look Goooood !!
"Stupid" is a song that may have been written for someone she knows, or knew .... or it could be about herself :-( .... Eh ! Who knows. But anyway, it's a cool song in the New Jack Swing operandi, Heavy kick drum, loud snapping snare, bouncy bass synth. Lyrical subject matter is that of woman whipped beyond all repair, and homeboy is just reeling in those benefits of using the crap out of her. In other words, a real life scenario. The bridge is where it's the most funkiest ! Bern's vocals, both lead and background, are super tight ! She has an incredible range, this woman could wail !! A tasty saxophone solo is thrown in to keep the funk in MAXXimun overdrive ! ;-)
"The Underground", Bern lowers her vocal register nearly an octave to give it that sexy chic sassiness ! The rhythm track may remind one of a Jam & Lewis production .... and if that was her intent, then she's allowed because J&L produced songs on Klymaxx's first album. You'll hear tinges of Janet's "What Have You Done For Me Lately", but the track overall is totally her own. The beat is fat, no doubt about that ! I don't even think Klymaxx ever recorded something as funky as this. Which lead me to believe Bern may have been holding out on them ! LOL ! .... and the lyrics ? Very tongue in cheek ;-) Use your imagination on this one folks ! ;-)
"Let's Be Discreet" .... Doctor Love is in the howse !! .... and so is the FONK ! The chicken scratched rhythm guitar is the spit that's holding the glue of this track together, slamming !! The bass synth is full effect, of course ! You'll hear synth strings getting busy one time ! The drums are programmed .... but then again, it could have been a combination of both programmed and live drums, remembers folks, she's a drummer too ..... and an exceptional one at that !
"The Howard Hughes Sitcom". This song clearly should've been designated as a single, or at least had a video produced. If you listen very closely, you may hear hinges and tinges of Cheryl Lynn's 1989 moderate hit, "Every Time I Try To Say Goodbye", and you'll hear those nuances in the choruses. Once again, the overall feel falls in line with the then hot New Jack Swing sound. That usually includes an M-1 Korg baritone sax sample, a heavy kick ass drum, a snap-your-neck snare sound, syntheseizer runs and horn stabs, and that you'll find here. Bern's vocal performance is assertive, in your face, and at times, sexy cool !
"The Drama According To ...... " is just as relevant today as it was 21 years ago. Talents such as Bernadette's are rarely heard today, male or female, doesn't matter. Though she later went to produce a myriad of other talented artists, she never received the accolades her male counterparts received, and it's a shame too. But thank God Bernadette didn't hand in her patch cords, she's still to this day making new music that will, hopefully, be heard by the masses. She's still doing her thing with the REAL & AUTHENTIC Klymaxx, so there's hope for mankind afterall.
Whatever Bernadette hit us over the head with, let's show her love and support it the right way .... don't illegally download, buy it from the source. Those major label "getting over on the artists" days are just about over. Now it's time for the independents to rise up, and with the new technologies and ways to deliver new music directly to the fans, and not the middlemen, we're sure to get SLAPPED for many years to come !
Musically Yours,
Ran Man
You can pick up copies of this overlooked work of art at Amazon.Com :
www.amazon.com/Drama-According-Bernadette-Cooper/dp/B000008EJT/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1306088777&sr=1-1
www.klymaxx.org
www.facebook.com/Bernadettecooper2?ref=ts
www.myspace.com/bernadettecooper
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