Neneh Cherry & The Thing: 4 out of 5 stars in Mojo Magazine

May 28, 2012Comments Off

Eighties pop star meets jazz combo; voodoo ensues.

This partnership of prog Scandinavian free-jazz trio The Thing – named for a Don Cherry track – and Neneh Cherry –
stepdaughter of said Don – seems too convenient to be true. But true it is, and The Cherry Thing is quite a brilliant combination, with its creepy, freaky sound and clever reinventions of Suicide’s Dream Baby Dream, MF Doom’s hard-hitting Accordion and grimy, strip-club ready take on Dirt by The Stooges. To the non jazz tuned ear it’s a discordant old mess at times – the baritone sax blares boozily, things fall in and out of time and Cherry’s vocals are totally uncooked – but there’s an admirable sense of experimentation. Cherry never was your cookie-cutter pop star; on her own Cashback she singe the line “If I could only be/like I´ve always wanted”, with conviction. (**** Dan Stubbs, MOJO Magazine)