Bobby McFerrin - Beyond Words

180-gram gatefold double LP reissue, pressed by Pallas in Germany

First ever release on vinyl!

Surely no one appreciates the sweet curse of the monster hit better than Bobby McFerrin, writes Christopher Loudon for JazzTimes. Mention McFerrin's name in casual conversation and you're sure to hear him dismissed as a one-hit wonder who was briefly hot in 1988 with his peppy paean to positive thinking, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," on Simple Pleasures. Little do most folks realize that he ranks among the most dynamically diverse performers on the planet. As accomplished a composer, conductor and producer as he is a singer, McFerrin is an artist of incomparable flexibility who is equally at home with jazz, soul, classical or blues

Actually, McFerrin's remarkable gift for expressing complex sounds, themes and emotions without words has been evident as far back as his eponymous debut in 1982. Not until now, though, has that gift been the sole focus of an entire solo album. In less capable hands, Beyond Words would likely be perceived as self-indulgent posturing or experimentation merely for the sake of avant-gardism. With McFerrin at the helm, the album emerges as an expertly navigated celebration of creative independence. It is, for the record, also the first of his albums on which he plays keyboards.