The Pendulum Vibe

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The Pendulum Vibe
Studio album by
Joi
ReleasedJune 28, 1994 (1994-06-28)
RecordedD.A.R.P. Studios, Atlanta
Genre
Length43:57
LabelEMI
Producer
Joi chronology
The Pendulum Vibe
(1994) 		Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome
(1997)
Singles from The Pendulum Vibe
  1. "
    Sunshine & the Rain
    "
    Released: March 1, 1994
  2. "I Found My Niche"
    Released: August 2, 1994

The Pendulum Vibe is the debut album of American recording artist Joi, released on June 28, 1994, by EMI Records. She recorded the album in three weeks with producer and mentor Dallas Austin at D.A.R.P. Studios in Atlanta. The Pendulum Vibe is a neo soul album that incorporates R&B, funk, and psychedelic soul styles. The songs are about themes of enlightenment, personal freedom, intimate relationships, and womanism.

The album was acclaimed by music critics upon its release, but was overlooked commercially and went out of print. It subsequently attained a cult following among listeners of eclectic R&B music and has since been viewed by critics as a precursor to the neo soul music scene.

Background

Having trained extensively in

TLC, Boyz II Men, and Another Bad Creation, took her on as his protégée.[1][4] In 1993, Joi moved to Atlanta and attained a record deal through Austin.[1][3]

She later said of her experience with Austin and Atlanta's music scene, "He and I ended up clicking musically and it was some crazy, creative times".[3]

Recording

Recording sessions for the album took place at Austin's D.A.R.P. Studios in Atlanta, Georgia.[5][6] The newly opened studio was the result of his thriving production career at the time.[7] The Pendulum Vibe was produced primarily by Austin, who also played most of the instruments,[8] including bass, drums, and keyboards.[9] He also co-wrote most of the songs with Joi.[8]

Joi also worked with hip hop producer Diamond D, keyboardist Dan Matrazzo, and Shadz of Lingo,[9] an Atlanta-based hip hop group signed to EMI at the time.[10] The group's MC Lingo contributed vocals to "Freedom" and "Fatal Lovesick Journey", and Kolorado played drums.[9] The Pendulum Vibe was recorded live and completed in three weeks.[4]

Music and lyrics

A

Sunshine & the Rain" is a bass-heavy song.[4] "Memories" is a jazzy, saccharine soul ballad.[13] "Fatal Lovesick Journey" has an intimate, smooth R&B style.[8] "If We Weren't Who We Were" has a low humming sound.[8]

The album has themes of enlightenment, personal freedom,

Sunshine & the Rain" and "Find Me" are sung from a black feminist perspective.[13] Joi sings in high alto on the album,[16] and her vocals are varied and impassioned.[4][13] They are also characterized by dramatic accents and,[16] at times, flat and sharp pitches.[4] "I've Found My Niche" has lyrics promoting self-expression.[16] "Find Me" is an ode to self-knowledge, with Joi forcefully singing, "I'll learn from my mistakes and I'll be strong / So I can find me".[15] "Adoramus te Christe" has Latin lyrics and is adapted from Quirino Gasparini's 18th century motet of the same name.[8] The slow, lustful "Narcissa Cutie Pie" has erotic subject matter and was inspired by a sexual experience Joi had with another woman.[2][8][13] She recalled the experience and addressed her sexuality in an interview, saying that "I'm not a lesbian [...] But I met a girl who made me question myself".[2] The song also features the album's recurring theme of independence, with Joi declaring "I can do whatever I want to do".[15] "I Don't Mind" features a raga rock style and themes of resignation and acceptance.[13] The a capella "If We Weren't Who We Were" has spiritual overtones and a theme of lovelessness.[13][18] The closing track is a reprise of "Freedom".[13]

Release and promotion

Austin's Rowdy Records directed their marketing efforts at underground audiences.[19] "Sunshine & the Rain" was released on March 1, 1994.[20] It was a minor club hit.[17] "I Found My Niche" was released on August 2.[21] The album's singles received some exposure with R&B and hip hop audiences.[19]

The album was largely overlooked by consumers upon its release, as its eclectic style was difficult to promote to music outlets such as

chart.[3][22] Joi later said of its performance with music listeners, "The people who got it, got it, and they became my fans and that's cool".[23] The album eventually went out of print.[24]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Christgau's Consumer Guide
(1-star Honorable Mention)[25]
Entertainment WeeklyA[14]
Rolling Stone[26]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[18]

The Pendulum Vibe was met with critical acclaim.[3][19] Musician magazine hailed the album as "the face of soul to come" with Austin and Joi's "new kind of urban dub" and lyrics: "Joi revels in her own sexuality, without necessarily being defined by it, and faces down most of the contradictions of contemporary R&B without totally rejecting it".[27] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly called Joi "as enigmatic and ear-grabbing as her music" and stated, "Joi's sweet, elastic voice wraps itself up and around spacey pop that exists in a universe all its own".[14] Browne remarked on her eccentric personality and concluded in his review, "Joi leaves you scratching your head, but she fills it with beatific sounds along the way."[14] Rolling Stone called the album "an alluring, shifting cybersexual listening experience" and complimented Joi's "dynamic range".[26] Robert Christgau, writing in The Village Voice, cited "Freedom" and "Narcissa Cutie" as highlights and wrote in summary of the album, "freedom as manumission, freedom as swinging both ways".[28]

In a retrospective review,

Allmusic editor Stanton Swihart commended Joi's "versatility" and commented that the album "has a whole lot to offer listeners across a wide spectrum of pop music."[8] Del F. Cowie of Exclaim! called the album "ahead of its time".[29] John Murph of the Washington City Paper wrote that, "artistically, it placed Joi ahead of the pack of prominent R&B singers of the time (SWV, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston) by sidestepping sap in favor of more vital juices".[17]

Legacy

[The] songwriting veers rebelliously, and often wondrously, through a wide range of stylistic influences [...] At each shift she avoids every conventional ghetto into which she could conceivably be thrust — like

LaBelle, Rufus, Prince, and Lenny Kravitz
before her — likely the album's major downfall but also its greatest legacy.

— Stanton Swihart,

Allmusic[8]

The album established Joi as part of a wave female R&B artists who released similarly styled and themed debuts, including

Madonna, who sought out Joi and developed a friendship with her.[3] She also enlisted Austin to produce songs for her 1994 album Bedtime Stories.[3] Joi attempted to follow up The Pendulum Vibe with Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome in 1997, but the album was shelved after her label folded,[3] and she went on an extended hiatus.[17] She became a long-time collaborator of the Dungeon Family collective and appeared on albums by OutKast, Goodie Mob, and Society of Soul.[3][30]

Since its initial reception, The Pendulum Vibe has attained a

B-boys and bohos were never as divergent as many believed."[15]

In 1998, Stereophile included the album on its list of Records to Die For, with editor Chip Stern calling it "unheralded" and "as visionary an R&B record as I've heard in the past 25 years."[13]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Stand" Dallas Austin0:37
2."Freedom"
Adoramus te Christe
"		TraditionalDallas Austin1:59
9."Narcissa Cutie Pie"GilliamJoi (co.), Rondal Rucker4:52
10."I Don't Mind"Austin, Gilliam, Colin WolfeDallas Austin3:12
11."If We Weren't Who We Were"GilliamDallas Austin1:26
12."Freedom (Celebration Mix)"Austin, GilliamDallas Austin, Diamond D2:32

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^
    Rovi Corporation
    . Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Hannaham, James (September 1997). "Joi Ride". Spin. Vol. 13, no. 6. Camouflage Associates. p. 46. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Howard, Jacinta (August 4, 2010). "Joi's badass revenge". Creative Loafing. Atlanta: Sharry Smith. Archived from the original on October 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Wilbekin, Emil (April 1994). "Next". Vibe. Vol. 2, no. 3. Time Publishing Ventures. p. 33. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  5. ^ a b "Joi - Pendulum Vibe CD Album". CD Universe. Muze. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  6. ^ "Vital Statistics". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 25. June 21, 1997. p. 32. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  7. ^ Hogan, Ed. "Dallas Austin - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Swihart, Stanton. "The Pendulum Vibe - Joi". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  9. ^ a b c d The Pendulum Vibe (CD booklet). Joi. EMI Records. 1994. 7243 8 27762 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Bush, John. "Shadz of Lingo - Music Biography, Credits and Discography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  11. Rhapsody. Archived from the original
    on October 6, 2010. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  12. The Source
    . No. 61. David Mays. October 1994. p. 83.
  13. ^
    Source Interlink Media
    . February 7, 1998. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  14. ^ a b c d Browne, David (June 17, 1994). "The Pendulum Vibe Review". Entertainment Weekly. No. 227. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  15. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Miles Marshall. "Revolutions Will Be Webicized (Joi 1997)". Miles Marshall Lewis. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Johnson, Martin (October 22, 1994). "No Need to Shout". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Murph, John (May 10, 2002). "Pussy Galore". Washington City Paper. Washington: CL Washington. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  18. ^ a b c d Caramanica et al. Brackett & Hoard (2004), p. 437.
  19. ^ a b c Nelson, Havelock (July 27, 1996). "Label Markets Joi In Stages". Billboard Communications. Vol. 108, no. 30. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  20. ^ "Sunshine & The Rain - Joi". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  21. ^ "I Found My Niche - Joi". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-29.
  22. ^ "The Pendulum Vibe - Joi". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  23. ^ Mukherjee, Tiarra (June 28, 1996). "Joi: Cool + All That". Entertainment Weekly. No. 333–334. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  24. ^ Chan, Sylvia W. "Star Kitty's Revenge: Joi". Amazon. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  25. ^ Christgau, Robert (n.d.). "CG: Joi". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
  26. ^ a b "Review: The Pendulum Vibe". Rolling Stone. No. 700. January 26, 1995. p. 62.
  27. ^ "Review: The Pendulum Vibe". Musician. October 1994. p. 83.
  28. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 17, 1995). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 2012-06-23.
  29. ^ Cowie, Del F. (July 2002). "Joi - Star Kitty's Revenge". Exclaim!. Toronto. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  30. ^ "Joi - Credits". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2012-06-29.

Bibliography

External links
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