TY Bello was a member of the musical quartet, Kush, best known for the hit single ‘Let’s Live Together’.
The band split, she went solo and in 2007, broke out as a solo act with
the massive ‘Greenland’, an anthemic expression of hope for a country
badly in need of it. A full album followed shortly after, but TY Bello
being a woman of many parts, strayed from the music.
Content – perhaps due to vocal limitations – with staying strictly a
recording artiste, Bello shunned live performances and pursued her other
passion, photography, becoming one of the highest profile names behind
the camera.
Save for 2011’s clunky single, ‘The Future’ she stayed largely away from music only to resurface this October with ‘The Morning Songbook’, a free compilation which is the result of a song writing and music making process commenced in 2009. The music on ‘The Morning Songbook’
may be free, available for download on TY Bello’s website, but the
quality is top notch. Bello works with her regular collaborator, Mosa
Adegboye, and together both music heads create a blissfully brief praise
and worship session with the creator. Unabashedly gospel, the record is
tastefully produced with TY Bello doing some vocal heavy lifting, and
trying repeatedly to stay ahead of her backing choir. Save for vocal
guest appearances by Mike Adenuga (Yahweh) and Msugh on ‘Alagbada Ina’. The record is essentially Mrs Bello and her choir expressing the goodness of God in various ways.
2007’s ‘Greenland’ is the most traditional pop song Bello has
recorded. With its melodious tune, sugary sweet sing along chorus and
crowd pleasing video, it is surely no surprise the record was such a
huge hit as it seemed crafted instinctively for commercial radio
success. Everything Bello has done since then, however, has been an
antithesis of ‘Greenland’s winning formula. The follow up single, ‘Ekundayo’ is one of the unlikeliest songs to be serviced to radio, and ‘The Future’, despite its message of encouragement for the youth wasn’t exactly the feel good record of the year.
‘The Morning Songbook’ continues in that tradition of
multi-composed arrangements that pay no mind to the regular
verse-bridge-chorus structure. The album opener, ‘Yahweh’
commences ominously with the beating of drums and Bello’s lukewarm verse
which she delivers almost nonchalantly. The song picks up considerably
when gospel act, Wale Adenuga joins in with a more expressive power that
pours out easily and uplifts the sound. The duo make for a
complementary pair even when Adenuga appears to be dishing out more
energy than Bello can muster and she widely cedes the spotlight to him.
The equation is a lot more balanced on the next song, ‘Alagbada Ina’.
Here, Bello goes back and forth with Msugh, accompanied by busy guitars
and heavy, brooding drums. The record begins to flow more fluidly and
soon, Bello finds herself doing all of the vocal heavy lifting on ‘I Am’,
a positive affirmation of human ability aided generously by superhuman
compulsion, before being joined in the final 60 seconds by the backing
choir.
‘Restorer’ is a more traditional gospel number and Bello sings it with restrained relish before pulling out all the stops for ‘Jesu Jesu’ and ‘Gates and Doors’,
two album highlights in which Bello stretches her recognisable alto as
far as she can manage in order to keep up with the choir. The results
are wholly uplifting.
The only time the tempo of the record flags (apart from the unnecessary skits) is on ‘Dance for You’, a generic drummed up number that fails to stand out.
The best things in life, they say, are free and this mother of twins
proves this maxim with this welcome collection of finely crafted gems.
Do yourself a favour, download.
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