Weather (Meshell Ndegeocello album)

2011 studio album by Meshell Ndegeocello

Weather

Studio album by

Meshell Ndegeocello

Released| November 15, 2011
Genre| Alternative rock
Length| 47:33
Label| Naïve
Producer| Joe Henry[1]
Keefus Ciancia
Meshell Ndegeocello chronology
| Devil's Halo
(2009)  | Weather
(2011)  | Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone
(2012)

|
|

Weather is the ninth studio album by American singer Meshell Ndegeocello, released on November 15, 2011, on the Naïve label.

## Critical reception

[edit]

Professional ratingsAggregate scores

Source| Rating
Metacritic| 82/100[2]
Review scores
Source| Rating
AllMusic| [3]
Entertainment Weekly| A–[4]
The Guardian| [5]
Mojo| [6]
PopMatters| 8/10[7]
Slant Magazine| [8]
Spin| 8/10[9]
Uncut| [10]

Weather received "universal acclaim" from critics. According to Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream publications, the release achieved an average score of 82 based on 15 reviews.[2]

In a review for AllMusic, critic reviewer Andy Kellman wrote: "The wealth of lithe, quiet backdrops played at slow tempos allows Ndegeocello, who switches between husky lower and sweet upper registers with more ease than ever, to tickle the ears. No song rocks, but a few groove."[3] Alex McPherson of The Guardian described Weather as "deeply intimate, wholly engrossing,' going on to say "Ndegéocello's work has often been heavy with mood while elliptical of songcraft, but Weather contains her most direct material since the early 1990s."[5] At Spin, Barry Walters explained: "After kick-starting neo-soul in the '90s, this chimerical bassist shimmied through countless genres as if to dodge and defy any tag — racial, gender, sexual, aesthetic. Here, she teams with producer Joe Henry for a somber mood piece that plays the introspection of singer-songwriter folk as meditative jazz."[11]

### Accolades

[edit]

Publications' year-end list appearances for Weather Critic/Publication  | List  | Rank  | Ref

|
|
|

Slant Magazine | Slant Magazine's Top 25 Albums of 2011  | 13  | [12]

## Track listing

[edit]

Weather track listingNo.| Title| Writer(s)| Length

|
|
|

1.| "Weather"|

* Meshell Ndegeocello
* Benji Hughes

| 2:32
2.| "Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear"|

* Ndegeocello
* Chris Bruce
* Gabe Noel

| 2:45
3.| "Feeling for the Wall"|

* Ndegeocello
* Joe Henry

| 3:28
4.| "Chance"|

* Ndegeocello
* Bruce
* Deantoni Parks

| 3:31
5.| "Oysters"| Hughes| 2:40
6.| "Rapid Fire"|

* Ndegeocello
* Parks
* Chris Connelly

| 4:56
7.| "Chelsea Hotel"| Leonard Cohen| 5:12
8.| "Dirty World"|

* Ndegeocello
* Parks

| 3:19
9.| "A Bitter Mule"|

* Ndegeocello
* Bruce

| 2:54
10.| "Crazy and Wild"|

* Keefus Ciancia
* Hughes

| 4:32
11.| "La Petite Mort"|

* Ndegeocello
* Nicci Kasper

| 3:31
12.| "Dead End"|

* Ndegeocello
* Bruce
* Kasper

| 5:11
13.| "Don't Take My Kindess for Weakness"| The Soul Children| 3:03

## Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

* Meshell Ndegeocello – bass, vocals
* Deantoni Parks – drums
* Nicci Kasper – vocals
* Chris Bruce – guitar, bass
* Keefus Ciancia – piano
* Gabe Noel – cello, bass
* Benji Hughes – piano, vocals
* Jay Bellerose – drums

Production

* Joe Henry – producer
* Ryan Freeland − engineer, mastering, mixer

|

## Charts

[edit]

Chart performance for Weather Chart (2011)  | Peak
position

|

US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[13] | 37

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Cotto, Maria (October 30, 2011). "First Listen: Meshell Ndegeocello, 'Weather'". NPR.org. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
2. ^ a b "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
3. ^ a b Kellman, Andy (2011). "Meshell Ndegeocello: Weather". AllMusic. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
4. ^ Weather reflects a bracingly tough-minded attitude toward love. [18 Nov 2011, p.103]
5. ^ a b Macpherson, Alex (November 4, 2011). "Meshell Ndegéocello: Weather – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
6. ^ Weather is so deftly under-produced that you turn it up; so hazy and intimate you're drawn in close. [Jan 2012, p.98]
7. ^ Chiola, Enio (November 27, 2011). "Meshell Ndegeocello: Weather". PopMatters. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
8. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (November 7, 2011). "Slant Magazine Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
9. ^ Walters, Barry (November 8, 2011). "Meshell Ndegeocello, 'Weather'". Spin. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2025.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
10. ^ This is a more low-key collection. [Feb 2012, p.94]
11. ^ Walters, Barry (November 8, 2011). "Spin Magazine Review". Spin. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
12. ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2011". Slant Magazine. December 14, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
13. ^ "MeShell Ndegeocello Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Weather at Discogs (list of releases)
* Weather at MusicBrainz (list of releases)

* v
* t
* e

Meshell Ndegeocello

Studio albums|

* Plantation Lullabies (1993)
* Peace Beyond Passion (1996)
* Bitter (1999)
* Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape (2002)
* Comfort Woman (2003)
* The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel (2005)
* The World Has Made Me the Man of My Dreams (2007)
* Devil's Halo (2009)
* Weather (2011)
* Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone (2012)
* Comet, Come to Me (2014)
* Ventriloquism (2018)
* The Omnichord Real Book (2023)
* No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin (2024)

Notable singles|

* "If That's Your Boyfriend (He Wasn't Last Night)"
* "Wild Night" (with John Mellencamp)
* "Who Is He and What Is He to You"
* "Leviticus: Faggot"
* "Never Miss the Water"

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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