Monica - Still Standing (2010)

Still Standing feat. Ludacris
Before 'Still Standing' actually starts we get a spoken introduction to the album with some piano accompaniment. Monica says, 'Momma always told me, you gotta walk by faith and not by sight. Real talk. You Gotta Listen'. Smart words. You don't get much chance to mull these over before the drums kick in with dirty electric guitar rifts. Monica commands that she be listened to since she is still 'Champion of the Game', despite being 'Up against the ropes'. She sings how she is Still Standing, both in her professional and personal lives, despite everything that has happened to her and what has been said about her. She will never give in and show the white flag. Ludacris' angry rap affirms the fact that he too is Still Standing and that his name is going down in the history books. Monica is at a point where she knows who she is and that she can overcome anything that life throws at her. This is a great start to what promises to be a great album. Thing is, you start off strong, you've got to get stronger...

One In A Lifetime
Track Two has a softer sound, with a piano, strings and percussion holding the reins. What the song lacks in beats, it more than makes up for in lyric. The song is about only getting One love In A Lifetime and Monica has just split up from hers. She sings how she needs her man back in her life, how she is so used to being whole that it is hard being half again and that her tears have been steady falling like the pouring rain. She asks whether the forecast will change and, when she does so, we hear the desperation in her voice. The pre-chorus and chorus make the song and, if I had to find something to criticise about the song, it would be the laziness of the metaphors used in the bridge: We've heard all about walking across the desert and climbing mountains a hundred times before but the rest of the song is box fresh and more than compensates for this. This has already been Tune of the Day and is rumoured to be in the running for a single release. I am more than convinced that this is up to the job and recommend that you give this a listen.

Stay Or Go
The piano provides the only back up to Monica as she sings about how annoying her current situation is and that she would tell her partner to grow up if she thought that it would make any difference. To quote Katy Perry, her man is 'Hot N' Cold' and Monica is asking whether he plans on Staying Or Going. The beat drops and speeds up and up and up some more as she sings that she is just about getting fed up of waiting around and is about to make the decision herself. Some seriously sassy backing vocals sound great and give rise to a 33rpm harpsichord track being played at 45. The vocal remains cool and collected over the erractic, frustrated beat and the two styles marry perfectly before the whole thing winds back down to the lone piano, with us left hanging as to what decision has been taken. I like it.

Everything To Me
Fans spoke, Monica listened and has gone with 'Everything To Me' as the lead single to the album. Many have welcomed the return to Monica's former glory: Rn'B Soul, pure and simple. This is a slower song, with a fantastic vocal over a full-on orchestra. We have percussion, strings, wind and brass all on duty; demonstrating whole-heartedly that the lover to whom the song is dedicated is her Everything. She wraps things up simply by saying, 'I Need You' and it is easy to see why so many people have been taken by this song. Check out the video on Monica's Official Website and you will see that she is looking as good as she sounds.

If You Were My Man
Missy Elliot features on this and states that this is 'Hot Sh*t' and 'Eighties'. She is not off the mark. The music is heavy for the verses: synthesizers and bass and the choruses are light by comparison. The music may be a throwback but the lyrics are bang up to date, with a rap from Monica telling a man that, in no uncertain terms, she can love him better than the girl who is going to break his heart can. This does take a few more listens than the previous tracks to get into but, especially if you are from that era, you will grow to love this too.

Mirror
From the eighties urban sound of 'If You Were My Man' we move to the slowed down nineties dance sound of 'Mirror'. Out of the two, this one just about takes the edge. The start of the song is a little bit like 'Thriller' before the nineties euro dance sounds join the handclap percussion and slower vocal. Monica is singing about what means the most to her and it is not the fame, the clothes, the money or the sold out shows; it's the way that her man looks straight through her, leaving her exposed. Picking up where 'Still Standing' left off, she sings that she is comfortable with what she sees, she doesn't have to be ashamed. She sees her man with her and she is solid. So is this track.

Here I Am
A chorus of 'Yeah, yeah, yeah's' start of the song with stuttered bass and minimal musical accompaniment. Monica sings about hitting up another man whilst her own is out playing the field. Whilst he is out with another chick, Monica is packing up her shi*t and about to leave him for the man she is saying 'Here I Am' to. If 'Stay Or Go' sounds like a vinyl album being played at the speed of a single, the opposite could be said for 'Here I Am'. The sound is slow but punctuated with bass and the repeated 'Yeah, yeah, yeah's'. She leaves no doubt in neither her potential new lover's nor the listeners' minds that she means what she says and is ready to move on.

Superman
This song has a more organic sound than the rest of the album; with more live, acoustic instrumentation. Monica sings that there is no other place that she would rather be and no other face that she would rather see than that of the Superman she wakes up with each morning. This is a love song with some nice touches, such as the emphasis on the bass of the second verse; hammering home the fact that she loves this man like no other. He's her hero. Her Superman. This is a nice song.

Love All Over Me
You are smacked over the head by the agressive introduction of this song that paves the way for the opening lyric of, 'Must not have been paying attention'. The introduction serves as a wake up call and, now Monica is paying heed to what is going on around her, she has gone from the bottom straight to the top in the arms of a new man. She is surrounded by love; has it All Over her and sings that she is not about to give up on it. After the initial shock of the introduction, the sound smooths itself out into something a little more in keeping with a love song, which gives Monica the opportunity to steal the show with her voice.

Believing In Me
A slow drum beat and the acoustic guitar start of the final track of the album, which is a show stopper. Monica sings about moving on from somebody that wasn't right for her, someone who was completely wrong for her and who kept her from believing in herself. Now that she is free, she is going back to a place where she belongs and this is a fitting song with which to conclude the album. The very end of the track reminds me of Beyoncé's 'Dangerously In Love', which is perhaps the perfect description of how Monica was feeling in the relationship that has just ended. Dangerously in love, since she was at risk of forgetting herself and being trapped in a dead end relationship. I like this one a lot.

Blackberry (Bonus Track)
Missy Elliot features once again on this listed bonus track about being the kind of girl that checks her boyfriend's phone when he goes to sleep to see just what he has been up to. As you may have expected, Monica's man is up to no good and this song serves as a warning to the women that are trying to encroach on her territory. Despite the agression in the lyrics, the style is laid back, conveying the confidence that she has in her relationship and that she is the woman who is going to come out on top. This doesn't stop her giving her man a talking to in the second verse, however. Missy hits the nail on the head once again when she describes 'Blackberry' also as being 'Hot Sh*t' before Monica starts divulging that, in addition to seeing who is texting her man, she also looks through the photographs as well as listening to his voicemail. As the song progresses, she becomes more and more angry and eventually leaves her boyfriend to his playing ways. A brilliant bonus track.

'Still Standing' has debuted at Number One on Billboard's Rn'B/Hip Hop Album chart and Number Two on Billboard's Top 200 and Digital Album Chart. Such success is indicative of a good album. USA Today describes the album as a deliberate and effective revisit to the past in a 'Gimmick-free set of cool R&B tracks'. Concrete Loop describes the project as 'Real R&B' and if that is your bag, you are going to love this. To a certain degree, my initial fears of the rest of the album not living up to the explosive start are realised; though the album has no fillers and 'Still Standing' winds it back up to finish as strong as it started. Future releases have to include the title track and 'One In A Lifetime'. This is easily the best thing that Monica has recorded both pre and post 'After The Storm' and, she is far from finding herself against the ropes turning in a project of this calibre.

Monica's Official Website: www.monica.com