FEATURE:
Second Spin
Kelis - Wanderland
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AS I am a fan of Kelis…
I was keen to explore one of her albums in some form. I feel her 2001 album, Wanderland, is underrated and did not get the same reaction and acclaim as it should have. As Kelis tells it, Virgin Records did not understand Wanderland. It was released in Europe, but the album was not released in the United States. It took until 2019 for the album to get an official release in the U.S. That might explain why some ignored it and the songs have not been played as much as they should. With production by The Neptunes, the album has so many different blends and sounds. Following the acclaimed Kaleidoscope of 1999, Wanderland is an album that deserves more focus. Songs like Young, Fresh n' New are classic Kelis! I feel that it is a shame that Virgin Records misunderstood the album and did not want to put it out. I would encourage everyone to take some time and listen to the album. I am going to quote a couple of different reviews for Wanderland. This is what AllMusic said about Kelis’ second studio album:
“Wanderland unfortunately didn't build on the promise Kelis showed throughout 1999's Kaleidoscope, and it didn't even come out in the States, but quickly dismissing it as a sophomore slump would be rash. In fact, the album's first three songs -- "Young, Fresh n' New," "Flash Back," and "Popular Thug" -- are on an even standing with the best of the singer's debut. "Young, Fresh n' New" is particularly stunning, a buzzing grind with a chaotic loop that could've been lifted from a pinball machine. As a song, it doesn't have much grounding, yet the Neptunes cast their disorienting eccentricities all over it and come up with a production that could've only been suited for Kelis. After that solid beginning, the album continually loses steam and gains it back. The revolving door of guests hinder the album more than it bolsters it; "Perfect Day," for instance, sounds more like a No Doubt album cut with a guest appearance from Kelis than the other way around. Despite the album's bumpiness, it proves that Kelis and the Neptunes should remain linked indefinitely. Until the third album, hope for two things: a more consistent batch of songs and no assistance from those who don't inhabit Kelis' and the Neptunes' world”.
As it has not sold massive amounts or scored big on the charts, Wanderland has sort of being overlooked. If you sit down and listen to it, it will really strike you. Twenty years after its release, I feel critics need to come back to it. This is what The Guardian said back in 2001:
“In a pop world dominated by marketing managers, image consultants and songwriting factories churning out hits to order, there was something delightfully unspun about Kelis Rogers arrival in the charts in 1999. Here was a New Yorker with a multicoloured afro and bizarre taste in clothes, singing about murder and alien abduction. She spent her interviews discussing her love for marijuana and the British indie band Muse. Aside from the musical strength of her debut album, Kaleidoscope, part of Kelis's appeal lay in the fact that no army of record company executives could possibly have contrived such an artist. You couldn't make her up.
Two years on, and Kelis seems no closer to being subsumed into the R&B mainstream. Her second album opens with a parody of the syrupy spoken-word introductions favoured by R&B divas. "Welcome to the world of Kelis," yawns a bored voice. "Don't touch anything!" Her lyrics are equally striking. The superb Flashback subverts standard bump-and-grind cliches with intriguing imagery. "Early in the morning the thought of sex is soaring like a plane," she coos, simultaneously sexy and rather puzzling.
The distinctive, futuristic sound of Kaleidoscope also acted as a calling card for production duo the Neptunes. Chad Hugo and Kelis’s on-off boyfriend Pharrell Williams have gone on to produce major hip-hop stars, including Jay-Z and P Diddy, but Wanderland is their most adventurous work to date. Occasionally, their experiments don’t work. Perfect Day, featuring ska-punk band No Doubt, attempts to update Funkadelic’s 1970s blueprint of soul smothered in distorted rock guitars, but ends up sounding distressingly like Limp Bizkit. More frequently, however, the music on Wanderland is clever, exhilarating and original. Popular Thug features Rogers and Williams sparring over the honking of what sounds like a steam-driven synthesizer. The sparse, abstract stammering of Get Even creates an aura of anxiety, the perfect foil for the song’s snarling lyric. Single Young Fresh ‘n’ New is largely based around the squealing of a car alarm”.
If you are looking for an album that will offer treats and stand up to repeated listens, then Kelis’ Wanderland is one that I can recommend. It is a truly underrated album that I really like. Whether you are a big fan of hers or not, I can guarantee that this record will…
LEAVE its mark.