| Allmusic |
 Following Lost & Found, an album that earned Ledisi a pair of Grammy nominations, Turn Me Loose partially roots itself in the singer's past work and otherwise branches out from it. The album's title, as well as its cover, indicates a new, brash direction -- one that makes up only a portion of the set. Throughout the opening "Runnin," "Knockin'," and stretches of a couple other songs -- not to mention a charging, howling cover of Buddy Miles' "Them Changes" -- Ledisi and her band deliver rocking funk that cooks as hot as Labelle's "Messin' with My Mind" and "What Can I Do for You," or anything by Van Hunt. Here, Ledisi wails and belts with a kind of power previously untapped -- in recorded form, at least -- all the while maintaining remarkable finesse. "I Need Love," one of the collaborations with Ivan Barias and Carvin Haggins, is another highlight, seductively melancholy over a slick and slippery rhythm, while the title track's bluesy Southern soul backdrop seems just as ideal for Ledisi's voice. Most of the material that is in the vein of the subdued, sophisticated R&B showcased throughout much of Soulsinger and Lost & Found is fine, if sporadically tepid -- something that really comes through when heard with the harder material. Verve Forecast might be a little sheepish about their artist straying from the style that brought them success; on the sticker affixed to the album, the label singles out three songs, none of which break a sweat. They really should help her expose the versatility as much as possible. [The deluxe edition, released simultaneously with the standard version, adds a DVD.]...full text |
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| Billboard |
| R&B artist Ledisi's new album, "Turn Me Loose," on which she collaborates with new producers and even sports a Mohawk (on the cover), serves as her official coming-out party. On her second Verve release, the Bay Area artist goes from wondering if her partner will still be there "In the Morning" and convincing herself that everything will be "Alright" -- both were also singles from 2007's "Lost and Found" -- to boasting more confidence and sass. On the bluesy title track, Ledisi warns, "I'm gonna get my things and walk out the door," while the horns on the drum-laden song "Everything Changes" find the artist preaching about letting go and living life to the fullest. On the flirty midtempo track "Please Stay," Ledisi promises to give her love a special treat if he stays the night. But she isn't one to sugarcoat things. "Alone" touches on a relationship that's coming to an end, while "I Need Love" questions if the narrator will ever find real love again. Still, like a true woman, Ledisi keeps growing as she takes the good with the bad.ý --Mariel Concepcion...full text |
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| Nytimes |
| For the R&B singer-songwriter Ledisi change is good even when it hurts, and there’s no point in resisting it anyway. “Turn Me Loose” (Verve Forecast), due out Tuesday, is her dissertation on the subject, inspired less by a recent presidential slogan than by a distant blues-rock anthem: “Them Changes,” a snarl of a tune by the former Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles. Ledisi covers it here as a bonus track, working her strident, soulful voice into a fury. And she borrows its subject matter for calmer ballads like “Goin’ Through Changes,” written with Rex Rideout, and “Everything Changes,” produced by Chucky Thompson. “Turn Me Loose” also has its share of kiss-offs and entreaties — Ledisi can manage both, though vulnerability eludes her even on a track called “Alone” — and enough tight musicianship to satisfy any retro-soul partisan. Speaking of which, Ledisi wrote two of these songs with Raphael Saadiq: “Please Stay,” which hardly goes deeper than the title, and “Love Never Changes,” which opens with a buoyant groove and an almost Zen-like reflection. “If I could/Change my world, things would be the same/There would still be love and pain/‘Cause without it, I would never change.”...full text |
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