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Shara Nelson

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Shara Nelson (born in London, England) is a singer and musician.

She is notable for providing the vocals on the Massive Attack song "Unfinished Sympathy" which has been widely critically acclaimed, notably in polls produced by MTV2, NME[citation needed]. A reviewer for the BBC has said that: "More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney."[1]

Career

Early work

Shara released her debut solo single simply under the name "Shara" entitled "Can't Get Over You" in 1986, produced by Lindel Lewis. This song is as yet unreleased on CD. In the late 1980s, she worked most prominently with The Wild Bunch, who would later rename themselves as Massive Attack.

Her work with Massive Attack was not confined to singing; she assisted with other aspects of the songmaking process. However, she decided to discontinue working with the band after the Blue Lines album. Nelson did record one song for the band's second album, given the title "Just a Matter of Time", before leaving the band.

In July 1993, she started her solo career with the UK Top 20 hit "Down That Road", which peaked at #19.[2] The single was released on Cooltempo Records after Nelson had returned to London from Bristol. Both Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osbourne were involved in remixing the single, which marketed her as the "new Aretha Franklin". Follow-up singles "One Goodbye in Ten" and "Uptight" peaked at #21 and #19 respectively.[3][4]

According to reviews, Nelson "readily admitted to her Motown Records influences, and the arrangements on her debut album were sumptuous affairs, with heaped strings and gushing choruses."[citation needed] The songs were co-written by Prince Be of P.M. Dawn ("Down That Road"), and Saint Etienne ("One Goodbye in Ten").

Late 1990s

Her second album, Friendly Fire, was released in 1995, and contained the hits "Rough with the Smooth" and "I Fell (So You Could Catch Me)". It was a much deeper album than her debut,[according to whom?] steering away from the pop Motown sound. Instead, it is a dramatic and dark epic filled with aching vocals and plenty of strings.

In 1998 she released the single "Black Island" with Air Cuba on the 4AD label. She contributed to Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project; her track was "Moonraker".

February 1999 saw the release of Charles Webster's Presence project album, All Systems Gone, which featured two tracks with vocals by Nelson: "Matter of Fact" and "Sense of Danger". The album was preceded by the single "Sense of Danger", which received critical acclaim on the deep house scene and reached #61 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1998.[5]

2000s

In December 2007, Nelson was featured on a new single by NUFrequency called "Go That Deep", which topped dance charts[which?] thanks to the remix from Charles Webster. New tracks were posted on her official website: "Promise to You", "Different" and "If".

Nelson is reportedly working with producer Charles Webster for a new Charles Webster album to be released in 2011.

Nelson's third solo album is nearly complete and is expected to be released in 2011. Shara is now happily married to Pete Tong.She is now called Shara Tong. They have an 11 year old daughter Kiri Tong.They also have a record and publishing company called "Shapeki"

Discography

Main article: Shara Nelson's discography

Studio Albums

Albums

  • 1991 Massive Attack Blue Lines
    Tracks: "Safe from Harm", "Unfinished Sympathy", "Daydreaming" and "Lately"
  • 1993 Solo album What Silence Knows
    Tracks: "Nobody", "Pain Revisited", "One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", "Uptight", "Down That Road", "Chance", "Thoughts of You, "How Close" and "What Silence Knows"
  • 1995 Solo album Friendly Fire
    Tracks: "Rough with the Smooth", "Moving On", "Poetry", "I Fell (So You Could Catch Me)", "Footprint", "Between the Lines", "After You", "Exit One", "Friendly Fire" and "Keeping Out the Cold"
  • 1999 Presence All Systems Gone
    Tracks: "Matter of Fact" and "Sense of Danger"
  • 2010 New solo album

Critical acclaim

  • "Friendly Fire firmly established her as an international soul artist, a fact at least partly attributable to Nelson's ability to write lyrics of much greater depth than is generally associated with the genre." - Lycos review[citation needed]
  • "Shara Nelson’s wonderful rich vocals rise above the simple ascending/descending chord structure." - BBC Review[6]
  • "Shara Nelson did most of the vocals and her voice is far more soulful, in the traditional sense of the word, than mine will ever be." - Beth Gibbons of Portishead[7]
  • 1994: Nominated for Mercury Music Prize with What Silence Knows. ?id=Gw8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58&dq='friendly+fire%22+billboard+shara+nelson&hl=cs&ei=mjwBTevzKYHAswa7toHzDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q='friendly%20fire%22%20billboard%20shara%20nelson&f=true 'Shara Nelson, What Silence Knows, Mercury Music Prize']
  • Nominated for 3 Brit Awards[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "bbc - radio 2 - sold on song - song library - top 100 - number 44 - unfinished sympathy". BBC. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Shara Nelson - Down That Road". Chart Stats. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  3. ^ "Shara Nelson - One Goodbye In Ten". Chart Stats. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Shara Nelson - Uptight". Chart Stats. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  5. ^ "Presence Featuring Shara Nelson - Sense Of Danger". Chart Stats. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  6. ^ BBC Review
  7. ^ Beth Gibbons of Portishead
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