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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2000)
Page 2 November 01, 2000 On Portland Focus A S U P P L E M E N T OF W ■¡Jìnrtlanì» (©b se rv e r Editor in Chief, Publisher Charles H. Washington Editor Larry J. Jackson, Sr. Copy Editor Joy Ramos Business Manager G ary A nn Taylor Creative Director Robert Parker 4747 N E M artin Luther King, Jr., Blvd. Portland, O R 97211 503-288-0033 Fax 503-288-0015 e-mail: thefocus@portlandobserver.com s-ubscriptif)nf''Jx)rtlanck)bs(ivTT.(ïxn ads@portlandobserver.com Deadlines for submitted material: Articles: Friday by 5 p . m . Ads: Monday by Noon Focus welcomes freelance submissions. M anuscripts and photographs can be returned if accom panied by a self- addressed stam ped envelope. All created display ads becom e the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the w ritten consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of the ad. I W Tlw Portland Observer Focus ---------------- HJortlanh ©bseruer Changing Faces If W ebster’s dictionary defines an artist as "a skilled performer; one who professes and practices an im aginative art” , then being a “recording artist” should entail those quali ties in re sp e c t to m usical expres- s i o n . In an id e a l s c e - nario, su ch a n adept re -* co rd - i n g a rtis t w o u ld su rre n - < der to th e ir true i n s p i r a - tio n , c r e a t ing so u nds and m elo d ies straig h t from the heart and so u l, be ev e r-e v o lv in g and a lm o s t n e v e r p r e d ic ta b le . C h a n g in g F a c e s ’ C a s s a n d ra L ucas and C h arisse R ose have wom en o f today. Consequently, Changing Faces are taking us m any places. Not exactly looking to have their bills paid, they insist they can ’t be bought to the light shufflin’ bounce o f “A in ’t G ot M e,” w hich features the spitfire rhymes o f Queen Pen. Fast rising vocalist L il’ Mo jo in s the unpredictable pair on “ Last N ight,” su per s o u lfu l D av e H ollister checks in for “ I T old Y ou,” a n d labelmate M a lik Pendleton’s vocals are f e a tu r e d on “Out o f S ig h t.” Still, no o n e can d e n C h a n g i n F aces’ instinc tiv e p ro w e s s when it com es to more rom an tic , hook- driven R&B like “ Ladies M an.” long assu m ed th e ir ro les as re co rd in g a rtists, fu rth e rin g th eir a rtistry w ith th e ir lo n g -aw aited new A tlan tic re le a se , “ V ISIT M E ,” a set that m anages to show and p rove th at th e ir nam e is m eant to be taken very literally. A llo w in g c h a n g e to o ccu r g ra d u a lly , C h a n g in g Faces begin their “ V IS IT M E ’ chapter with a fa m ilia r r in g , th e d re a m y , c o m p e l- 1 i n g “ T hat O th e r Woman” W ritten a n d p r o duced by R& B s ta r Jo e , the female- s p e c ific m i d t e m p o tr a c k g iv e s C a s s a n d ra C h a r is s e a n o th e r song with which to e x - , press the point o f view o f the le v e l-h e a d e d , stro n g -m in d e d And then there’s the title cut, w ritten by longtim e friend, R. K elly, who always m anages to com e up w ith the cen terp iece sm ash selection for C harisse and C assandra. H aving know n K elly since befo re his c a re e r-b re a k ing 12 Play disc, the R & B /pop su p e rsta r has since c o n trib uted w hat was to be a hit s in g le fo r th e f irs t (“ Stroke Y ou U p” ) and seco n d (“G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T.”) C h a n g in g F a c e s L P s. T h is tim e proves no differ e n t, as “ V IS IT M E” revisits the feel o f fan favor ite s lik e “ S e n sual.” It’s obvious with “ V IS IT M E ” th a t C a s s a n d ra and have come a long way since first making each other's ac q u ain tan ce w hile stu dents at New York C ity’s fam ous M usic and A rt high school. Through post graduation found them pursu ing separate educational oppor tunities (Charisse attended John ‘4 Ja y C o lle g e , C a ssa n d ra earned her BA d e g re e from H u n te r C o l lege), little did they know they shared a fate in mu sic. Like fine wine, mu sic is not only sup p o se d to get b e tte r w ith time, but not tasted a m o ment too soon. H ence, C han g ing Faces can a lw a y s be counted on to ta k e th e ir tim e and come correct. U n p re ssu re d to ham m er their music out at the rigorous pace o f others they choose to concentrate on q u a lity an d b ringing th e ir b e s t. T hat would be “VISIT M E.” Big City Produce Named BEST FRESH MARKET in Portland 1999! ! Buy the Case, Buy the Pound, or Buy the Bunch, You Save BIG at Big City Produce! Best Greens in Portland. Best ethnocentric selections in Portland. 722 N. Sumner St. (Corner of N. Albina & N. Sumner) One Block West of Jefferson High School. 460-3830 Open 7 Days a Week Mon-Fri 7:30 - 7:00pm Sat. 9:00am - 6pm Sun. 10:00am - 6pm
