Ivory Album Review by Alex Henderson
Ivory, Lady T's last album for a major label, was an intentionally ironic title in that she's a white singer who sounds convincingly black (much to her credit), has a largely African-American following, and has enjoyed little support from pop audiences. Unfortunately, Marie didn't enjoy much commercial success period with Ivory -- a generally decent album, certainly, but one that fell short of the overall excellence of Naked to the World and earlier offerings like Irons in the Fire (1980) and Wild and Peaceful (her 1979 debut). Marie's use of hip-hop elements comes across as forced, clichéd, and contrived on "Mr. Icecream" and "Here's Looking at You." But she has definite treasures in the infectious funk number "The Sugar Shack," the seductive "Just Us Two," and "If I Were a Bell" -- a fine example of the type of heart-on-her-sleeve, '70s soul balladry she'd long since mastered. With a folk-rock appeal not unlike Edie Brickell -- believe it or not -- "How Can You Resist It" is a major departure for her. Marie had been producing and writing her own albums since Irons in the Fire -- a claim few other female soul divas can make -- but turns to Soul II Soul founder Jazzie B. with likeable, thought not breathtaking, results on "Since Day One."
Biography by Alex Henderson
No white artist has sang R&B more convincingly than Teena Marie, whose big, robust vocals are so black-sounding that when she was starting out, some listeners wondered if she was a light-skinned African-American. Not to be confused with Brazilian jazz singer Tânia Maria, Marie grew up in west Los Angeles in a neighborhood that was nicknamed "Venice Harlem" because of its heavy black population. The singer/songwriter/producer was in her early twenties when, around 1977, she landed a job at Motown Records. It was at Motown that she met her mentor and paramour-to-be, Rick James, who ended up doing all of the writing and producing for her debut album of 1979, Wild and Peaceful. That LP, which boasted her hit duet with James, "I'm Just a Sucker for Your Love," didn't show Marie's picture -- so many programmers at black radio just assumed she was black. When her second album, Lady T, came out, much of the R&B world was shocked to see how fair-skinned she was. But to many of the black R&B fans who were eating her music up, it really didn't matter -- the bottom line was she was a first-rate soul singer whose love of black culture ran deep.
By her third album, 1980's gold Irons in the Fire, Marie was doing most of her own writing and producing. That album boasted the major hit "I Need Your Lovin'," and Marie went gold again with her next album, It Must Be Magic (which included the major hit "Square Biz"). It Must Be Magic turned out to be her last album for Motown, which she had a nasty legal battle with. Marie got out of her contract with Motown, and the case ended up with the courts passing what is known as "The Teena Marie Law" -- which states that a label cannot keep an artist under contract without putting out an album by him or her.
Switching to Epic in 1983, Marie recorded her fifth album, Robbery, and had a hit with "Fix It." In 1984, Marie recorded her sixth album, Starchild, and had her biggest pop hit ever with "Lovergirl." Though Marie had often soared to the top of the R&B charts, "Lovergirl" marked the first time she'd done so well in the pop market. Ironically, Marie was a white singer who had enjoyed little exposure outside the R&B market prior to "Lovegirl."
Three more Epic albums followed: 1986's Emerald City, 1988's Naked to the World (which contained her smash hit "Ooh La La La"), and 1990's Ivory. Unfortunately, Marie's popularity had faded considerably by the late '80s, and Epic dropped her. In 1994, the singer released Passion Play on her own Sarat label. Ten years later, she signed to Cash Money and released La Doña, featuring assistance from Gerald LeVert, Rick James, and MC Lyte. Sapphire followed two years later.
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