Happy 30th Anniversary to Dianne Reeves’ Never Too Far, originally released January 1, 1990.
In January of 1990, I had recently moved back to my hometown of Adelaide from a very sleepy and somewhat isolated country town that I called home for five or so years. My musical taste had taken a massive turn away from the staple “Aussie” diet of rock and the occasional pop act at the time, which often left me feeling incredibly isolated from my friends and their tastes in music. I had not only discovered house music (an unthinkable type of music for many hardcore rock fans back then), but I had also finally reconnected with my childhood love of jazz and soul music. Something that, again, just didn’t resonate with anyone around me.
Taking a very misguided side step while out shopping with my grandparents one Saturday morning, I stumbled across a small music store. I begged and pleaded with my Oma to let me look at the latest musical offerings and after some back and forth she begrudgingly let me stay, but only for 30 minutes. That 30 minutes was all that was needed for my life to change and for the wheels to be set in motion for a love affair with a voice that would go on to shape the better part of my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. That initial thirty minutes has now turned into thirty years.
Admiring the very limited selection of CDs the store had on offer, I couldn’t help but notice the funky, uptempo track playing in the background. The voice was crisp and clear, it had elements of Jazz, although not in its purest form. The music had truly captivated me and I needed to know more. I asked the sales assistant who was playing in the background and he responded with “Let me check. Oh, yeah, it’s Dianne Reeves’ latest album, Never Too Far.” I asked to look at the CD and in an instant I was hooked.
That first track that caught my attention was in fact the CD’s opener; “Hello, Haven’t I Seen You Before?” I asked to listen to the CD on the headphones and I just couldn’t skip past that initial track. I must have hit that rewind button 10 or more times! It wasn’t long before I realized my time had nearly come to an end in the store, especially given the piercing glare of my tiny Oma through the shop window, reminding me of who was boss. I hurriedly took out what Christmas money I had left over and asked to buy the cheaper version of the album on cassette. In my mind, this was my belated birthday gift to myself. I had just turned 14.
Some 10 or so years later and whilst upgrading all of my music collection to a then much cheaper option of CD, I came across Never Too Far and decided to indulge my ears yet again. The sound, whilst nearly exactly the same, had also somehow changed. The way I was hearing the words seemed clearer and my understanding of the messages was better. Something that had caught my attention as an adolescent boy had recaptured my attention now as an adult man, and this time ‘round it made even more sense.
Maybe my experiences had grown, changed, been confronted even and with these changes a newfound maturity allowing me to truly hear tracks like “Bring Me Joy” and “Fumilayo” stopped me dead in my tracks. I was metaphorically paralyzed. “Bring Me Joy” co-written by Cuban percussionist Luis Conte, introduces the beautiful South African rhythms of “Fumilayo,” a break away from the rest of the album which sits firmly somewhere between jazz and adult contemporary, but this doesn’t distract the listener. If anything, it was a precursor to Ms. Reeves’ ability to organically combine a wide range of stylings in one setting and with the greatest of ease.
Given that Ms. Reeves’ cousin, the late legendary George Duke, produced the album and co-wrote four of the album’s tracks (“How Long,” “Eyes On The Prize,” “Fumilayo” and “More To Love”), it would be impossible to ignore his sound and overall impact on the album. “Eyes On The Prize” epitomizes this impact for me, with an almost Brazilian sound, bringing me back to an album that was played in my house as a child, Duke’s beautiful A Brazilian Love Affair (1980).
There is simply no denying the power in Ms. Reeves’ voice and with said power comes an emotional palette of colors as diverse as they are beautifully complex. Whether it be the gospel choir on the album’s title track “Never Too Far” or stunning ballads like “More To Love” and “We Belong Together,” Ms. Reeves doesn’t miss a moment to exercise her vocality in commanding, but never overpowering fashion. This command is exemplified on the powerful “How Long,” with its message of social injustice, gun violence and a mother’s loss of child, which is sadly just as relevant now as it was back in 1990.
It is arguably on the album’s final track “Company,” co-written by Rickie Lee Jones, that the never-ending shades of Ms. Reeves’ voice are truly demonstrated. The emotion as she painstakingly weaves in and out of the words leaves the listener with a sense of immediate feeling as opposed to just “listening.” The most emotionally resistant of hearts would weep as she soars the scales declaring her pain, and then ever so gently and without abandoning her sentiment, ends this emotional saunter with a hauntingly tender whisper, “I’m looking for company.”
Ms. Reeves, you truly are incomparable.
LISTEN: