Music Monday 38 :: "Give It To Me Right" by Melanie Fiona

"Give It To Me Right" Melanie Fiona (2009)

This is a good find, for me at least. I first heard this song when my step-dad was driving me to the airport to relocate to Cairo in early August. It was on one of the satellite networks and I was like "who's this?" And even when I saw her name on the display I was still like "who's this?"

I like her sound. On this particular track, she's got that old school sound. That vibe seems to be popular especially from the international set. Fiona's from Toronto.

The old school sound that comes from this song is like a Supremes/Vandellas sort of era. Some sass w/a beat. Fiona's voice is rich and she gives each note, each word just the right amount of emphasis. The hook is strong "so give it to me right or don't give it to me at all." The arrangements fits too. There's some background vocals and some nice instrumentation that does not trample over Fiona's vocals.

I'm not yet feelin her next track "It Kills Me". It seems too much like what's already in the pot. It ain't easy to put out that freshness all the time, right?

My only disappointment (and no fault of Fiona's) is that I like "Give It To Me Right" so much that I tried to purchase the track on Amazon and Amazon does not allow mp3 purchases outside of the U.S. Now that's a helluva bummer for me.

You can check out the "Give It To Me Right" video on YouTube.

Fiona's cd "The Bridge" drops on 9.22.09.