Art & Survival | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1994 | |||
Genre | Vocal jazz | |||
Label | EMI [1] | |||
Producer | Eddie del Barrio, Terri Lyne Carrington | |||
Dianne Reeves chronology | ||||
|
Art & Survival is an album by the American vocal jazz singer Dianne Reeves, released in 1994. [2] [3]
The album peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. [4] It has sold more than 500,000 copies. [5] Sheryl Lee Ralph sang part of "Endangered Species" during her 2022 Emmy Awards acceptance speech. [6]
The album was produced by Eddie del Barrio and Terri Lyne Carrington. [7] Reeves cowrote more than half the songs on Art & Survival. [8] Due to industry and personal issues, she went into the recording studio knowing that Art & Survival could be her final album. [9]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | ![]() |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Indianapolis Star | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
USA Today | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Los Angeles Times thought that "this multitextured experiment, with its frequent spiritual-based stories, is Reeves' most ambitious effort." [13] The Washington Post wrote: "By far her most personal and soul-searching recording, the album seems as much therapy as a musical expression for the gifted singer." [15] The Philadelphia Daily News said that, "in an incantational style sometimes reminiscent of Leon Thomas and Roberta Flack, the singer/composer evokes ancient spirits and the freeing powers of the Lord, explaining how she's come through the wringer a changed woman." [16]
Newsday deemed the album "a song cycle about self-discovery." [17] Essence called it an "album of powerfully rendered, personal yet universal compositions that run the rhythmic gamut from hard-swinging jazz to plaintive ballads to a cappella African chants." [18] USA Today wrote that "Body and Soul" is "a scat-driven, Afro-Cuban tour de force." [14]
AllMusic considered the album "neither '90s revisited bop nor overtly commercial Quiet Storm fodder ... [Reeves] is really seeking a middle ground between her two audiences." [10]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Old Souls" | 5:20 |
2. | "Come to the River" | 5:36 |
3. | "One More Time" | 5:37 |
4. | "Anthem" | 5:26 |
5. | "Freedom Dance" | 6:55 |
6. | "Endangered Species" | 3:23 |
7. | "Josa Lee" | 6:54 |
8. | "Body and Soul" | 10:06 |
9. | "Silent Tears and Roses" | 6:49 |
10. | "Lament for a Lonely Child" | 6:48 |
11. | "Bird Alone" | 6:46 |