Wonderful thoughtful review of Lauryn Hill’s first and only solo album “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”, which was certainly one of my favorite albums in the last 10 years. I’ll never forget watching her break down into tears during a performance on MTV Unplugged. It was gripping … but it wasn’t supposed to happen. It reminded me of that infamous blurry concert footage of a grown Judy Garland dressed up in the tramp outfit trying to get through “Over the Rainbow” and you truly feel that she won’t make it through. You also feel (or at least I did): “Wow. I hope she’s going to be all right.” The feeling that comes up in the performer is so raw and unbidden that you definitely feel like: I probably shouldn’t be watching this.
What’s most remarkable, in retrospect, as the cult of Lauryn Hill grows stronger (sporadic concert appearances becoming the stuff of myth) is how slight some of her songs are on record. For being almost 80 minutes long, Miseducation is a surprisingly easy listen, coasting mostly on Hill’s simple repetition of phrases to emphasize a mood. By album’s end, a cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” (with beatboxing) seems obligatory but still a part of what she does best: Like Amy Winehouse, Hill gets at the heart of ’60s soul while slyly turning it into her own postmodern art project. The album’s simple authenticity is one of its strengths, turning backup vocals into rap refrains and stripping bare much of soul music’s bullshit. She casually tosses off lines like “C’mon, baby, light my fire” on “Superstar” with the awareness of someone who also knows how little those words can mean.
A beautiful article about a wonderful album.
Video of “Everything is Everything” below (which came out when I still, you know, cared about videos). Love this song.
