Chaka Khan - What Cha' Gonna Do for Me

Ms. Khan's Third Solo Album on Warner Bros. Is Arguably her Best Collaborative Effort with Legendary Producer Arif Mardin. The Repertoire Here Has More of an Overt Nod to Jazz with the Inclusion of "And the Melody Lingers on (Night in Tunisia) which features a Lyrical Tribute to Jazz Heroes and Cameo Appearances from the Late Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock and an "Excerpted" Passage from Charlie Parker. The Biggest Hit on the Charts this Album Produced was "i Know You, I Live You", While the Title Track was Favoured by Many FM Stations at the Time. An Oh So Solid Effort from One of R&b's Greatest Voices. Album Details

"Wonderful"

I bought this music as an audio cassette when it originally came out. I feel the same way now as I listen to one of our musical legends at her absolute peak. Phenomenal performances, exquisite compositions, lush arrangements, 5-star production, and Chaka making history! Thank you Amazon on behalf of myself and my Ipod!!
L.Webb February 24, 2008

The melody still lingers on... even 26 years later!

This 1981 bombshell is one of my favourite albums of all time, from one of my favourite female vocalists of all time and is a truckload full of hits. Maybe not hits in the traditional Billboard Hot 100 sense of the word but definitely hits, I am willing to bet, in the hearts and minds of Chaka Khan fans worldwide. To me, "We Can Work It Out", "What Cha' Gonna Do For Me", "I Know You, I Live You", "Any Old Sunday", "Night Moods", "Father He Said", "Fate", and the instant classic "And The Melody Still Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)" with that special guest appearance from Dizzy Gillespie and that scorching Clavitar solo by Herbie Hancock, are all hits. (And Chaka's vocals on that last song are spellbinding). I always knew the woman had range but I remember the first time I heard that song. I simply couldn't believe it. It's still hard to believe, 26 years later.

The album is pretty much five star flawless from beginning to end. Chaka Khan is a rare breed of singer, the likes of which probably only come along once in a lifetime. I imagine most people have a favourite female vocalist; even among my own peer group, some love Aretha Franklin, some are into Patti LaBelle, while others adore Phyllis Hyman. While I admire all these women, with me, it has always been and will always be Chaka Khan. With faultless production from Arif Mardin, I feel this is an R&B, soul and jazz album in a class on its own.

They don't make them like this anymore, unfortunately.

March 29, 2007

CHAKA KHAN IS DYNAMITE!

Wow! What a powerful voice! Listen to this album and you will see what I mean. First of all this album hit the streets back in 1981 and proved to the music world that Chaka Khan was in the same league as legendary artists such as the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Gladys Knight, and Dionne Warwick. Chaka's WHAT CHA' GONNA DO FOR ME was certified gold and the title track topped the R&B singles chart. My favorite tracks have to be the title track, "Any Old Sunday", and "Father He Said." The latter mentioned does not seem to garner much merit, but the fact that her vocals are awesomely powerful make it worth my listen every time I play this album. Also try Chaka's 1980 album NAUGHTY, which is just as good as this one, maybe a tad better in terms of continuity of material. December 29, 2006

The Best!!!

I thought that Chaka Khan's first two records were quite good. The arrangements straddled different genres and her vocal acrobatics and harmonies were intense. The musicians she used were all first rate...I confess to really discovering Chaka in the early 90's when I was finishing high school but once "The Woman I Am" sunk into my subconscious I was intenseley hooked- to the point of delving into her back catalogue and I have not been disappointed since. What amazes me is listening to her and others from that time period and hearing how innovative and genre bending music was a norm as a result the state of music and the music industry have become quite sad pushing for genres and keeping music fragmented.
"What'cha Gonna Do For Me is a great album that shows Chaka's versatility. Her penchant for jazz started to show with her rendition of "Night in Tunisia". Arif Mardin's studio wizardry is put to good use tweaking hi hats and fairlight on "Heed The Warning" and on the great ballad "Night Moods"(which I'm surprised was not put on her "Greatest Hits' package. Amazing vocal arrangements!!). "We Got Each Other" is a great funky track which features her brother Mark Stevens. I'm also surprised they never collaborated more since most of their collaborations were on the mark (check out "Some Love" and "What You Did").This album has a few songs that have been sampled for current house music productions by notable House veterans MAW and Mike Clark("I know You I Live You") and Stardust's 'Music sounds Better With You' lifted a bar from 'Fate'. If that's not a testament of Chaka's influence and timelessness then I don't know what is. My only gripe is that this LP should be remastered. August 26, 2006

EXCELLENT!!!!

I will have to say I'm a huge Chaka fan but I don't own all of her albums so it's exciting for me to be going back and buying everything that I missed in the early 80s as I didn't get hip to Chaka until "I Feel For You" and even at that time I didn't realize her greatness. While "I Feel For You" was a great commercial success, this album is a great body of work with every song being an excellent one. The expression of the title track goes unsaid but classics such as, "We Got Eachother" and "I Know YOu, I Live You" stand out to me among an album filled with wonderful songs... Chaka is one of, if not the greatest female vocalist of the 20th and 21st century and this album is a testament to that fact. If you read the jacket, Arif Mardin writes an explanation of how he came up with the idea for remaking and rewriting Dizzie Gillespie's "Night In Tunisia" but the vocal arrangements and harmnonies were totally Chaka's idea and was not even planned; she just up and did it. She is wonderful and that's why to me, she is greater than Aretha or any of the others. She doesn't have to try; she just sings. She is truly God's gift. July 28, 2006

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