I said goodbye to happiness as soon as I saw this new Chaka Khan had only seven songs–a mere 27 minutes of music. I violated one of my Rules of Buying Music CDs: “Always listen to the online samples of the music before you buy.” I read the The Wall Street Journal and New York Times interviews (not reviews!) with Chaka Khan. Hello Happiness is Chaka Khan’s first CD in 12 years. She’s been through bankruptcy and personal travails. I impulsively ordered her new CD.
Big Mistake!
The “music” on this CD is bland and meandering. This is a CD I will never listen to again. Don’t waste your time or money on this failure. If you want to listen to great Chaka Khan music, try The Essential Chaka Khan instead. GRADE: F
TRACK LIST:
Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. “Hello Happiness”
Yvette StevensDavid TaylorSarah Ruba TaylorThomas GillSamuel Wilkes SwitchSarah Ruba 3:56
2. “Like a Lady”
StevensD. TaylorS. TaylorSanford LivingstonAmy StroupTroydon MurisonLincoln Cleary LivingstonSwitchRubaMurison[b] 5:00
3. “Don’t Cha Know”
StevensD. TaylorS. TaylorGillEli Winderman SwitchRubaChaka Khan[a]Murison[a] 3:18
4. “Too Hot”
StevensD. TaylorS. TaylorAndrea FratangeloMurisonClearyEddie Lee Langolis BotSwitchRubaKhan[a] 3:45
5. “Like Sugar”
StevensD. TaylorS. TaylorWilliam CurtisJohn Flippin SwitchRuba 3:59
6. “Isn’t That Enough”
StevensD. TaylorS. Taylor SwitchRubaMurison[b] 3:31
7. “Ladylike”
StevensD. TaylorS. TaylorStroupRicardo RouseLivingston SwitchRubaMurison[b] 3:45
Total length: 27:14
Hi George!
Sad to hear this¡
I remember her accompanying Steve Winwood.
PS
I have computere trouble so writing on my wife’s smartphone-not with Hungária keyboard and autocorrect …
Wolf, I love Chaka Khan on Winwood’s “Higher Love.” Sorry to hear about your computer problems.
This is why I rarely buy new music from “legacy artists.” It’s usually just a money grab and rarely up to the standards we expect from them. Put this cd in the donate pile and just listen to Rufus’s Greatest Hits again!
Deb, you are so right! I was burned…again. I love Chaka Khan and Rufus especially on “Ain’t Nobody.”
Sucker! Seven songs, 27 minutes long? Pass.
Chaka Khan can be heard to somewhat better advantage on the LIVE tribute CD to her friend (who knew?) Joni Mitchell, JONI 75:A Birthday Celebration.
1.Dreamland, Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Xochi Flores & Cesar Castro
2. Help Me, Chaka Khan
3. Amelia, Diana Krall
4. All I Want, Rufus Wainwright
5. Coyote, Glen Hansard
6. River, James Taylor
7. Both Sides Now, Seal
8. Our House, Graham Nash
9. A Case of You, Kris Kristofferson & Brandi Carlile
10. Down to You, Brandi Carlile
11. Blue, Rufus Wainwright
12. Court and Spark, Norah Jones
13. Nothing Can Be Done, same as song #1
14. The Magdalen Laundries, Emmylou Harris
15. Woodstock, James Taylor
16. Big Yellow Taxi, La Marisoul, James Taylor, Chaka Khan & Brandi Carlile
We’ve heard Graham Nash tell the story of writing “Our House” when he and Joni were living together.
Jeff, I’ll have to track down a copy of JONI 75. It has to be vastly better than HELLO HAPPINESS.
Not a fan, so I wouldn’t have bought it anyway. Too bad you got burned.
Rick, it’s my own fault. My rule on buying music CDs is: LISTEN BEFORE YOU BUY! I skipped that rule and ended up with a dud that I’ll never listen to again.
I’m with Rick. Never cared a whit about her or her music!
Update: check your local listings, as our local PBS station is showing the Joni 75 tribute concert this Thursday night from 9 to midnight, so presumably with many pledge breaks. We’ll record it to watch it later.
Jeff, thanks for the heads up! Well DVR it and watch it sans the fund-raising.