Shara Nelson

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Shara Nelson (born in London, England) is a singer and musician.

She is notable for providing the vocals on the Massive Attack song "Unfinished Sympathy" which has been widely critically acclaimed, notably in polls produced by MTV2, NME, and various other magazines and reviewers.^{[citation needed]} A reviewer for the BBC has said that: "More than a decade after its release it remains one of the most moving pieces of dance music ever, able to soften hearts and excite minds just as keenly as a ballad by Bacharach or a melody by McCartney."^[1]

Career

Early work

Shara released her debut solo single simply under the name "Shara" entitled "Can't Get Over You" in 1986, produced by Lindel Lewis. This song is as yet unreleased on CD. In the late 1980s, she worked most prominently with The Wild Bunch, who would later rename themselves as Massive Attack.

Her work with Massive Attack was not confined to singing; she assisted with other aspects of the songmaking process. However, she decided to discontinue working with the band after the Blue Lines album. Nelson did record one song for the band's second album, given the title "Matter of Time", before leaving the band.

In July 1993, she started her solo career with the UK Top 20 hit "Down That Road", which peaked at #19. The single was released on Cooltempo Records after Nelson had returned to London from Bristol. Both Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osbourne were involved in remixing the single, which marketed her as the "new Aretha Franklin". Follow-up singles "One Goodbye in Ten" and "Uptight" peaked at #21 and #19 respectively.

According to reviews, Nelson "readily admitted to her Motown Records influences, and the arrangements on her debut album were sumptuous affairs, with heaped strings and gushing choruses."^{[citation needed]} The songs were co-written by Prince Be of P.M. Dawn ("Down That Road"), and Saint Etienne ("One Goodbye in Ten").

Late 1990s

Her second album, Friendly Fire, was released in 1995, and contained the hits "Rough with the Smooth" and "I Fell (So You Could Catch Me)". It was a much deeper album than her debut,^{[according to whom?]} steering away from the pop Motown sound. Instead, it is a dramatic and dark epic filled with aching vocals and plenty of strings.

In 1998 she released the single "Black Island" with Air Cuba on the 4AD label. She contributed to Shaken and Stirred: The David Arnold James Bond Project; her track was "Moonraker".

February 1999 saw the release of Charles Webster's Presence project album, All Systems Gone, which featured two tracks with vocals by Nelson: "Matter of Fact" and "Sense of Danger". The album was preceded by the single "Sense of Danger", which received critical acclaim on the deep house scene and reached #61 in the UK Singles Chart in November 1998.

2000s

There was a quiet period after these releases.

In December 2007, Nelson was featured on a new single by NUFrequency called "Go That Deep", which topped dance charts^[which?] thanks to the remix from Charles Webster.

New tracks were posted on her official website: "Promise to You", "Different" and "If".

The full video and single release will be in February,^{[dated info]} followed by the NUFrequency album which will feature Shara Nelson on vocals.

In a message on their MySpace page, NUFrequency said the following about Shara Nelson: "Go That Deep will be released on vinyl and digital on 21st of February with the album following after summer" "Also Shara is singing on at least two tracks on the album to be released in 2010, and YES she is also working on her new solo album!"^{[citation needed]}

Shara is reportedly working with producer Charles Webster for her new, as yet untitled solo album. They are also working on tracks for a new Presence/Charles Webster album, both are to be released in 2010.

Albums

• 1991 Massive Attack Blue Lines

  Tracks: "Safe from Harm", "Unfinished Sympathy", "Daydreaming" and "Lately"

• 1993 Solo album What Silence Knows

  Tracks: "Nobody", "Pain Revisited", "One Goodbye in Ten", "Inside Out", "Uptight", "Down That Road", "Chance", "Thoughts of You, "How Close" and "What Silence Knows"

• 1995 Solo album Friendly Fire

  Tracks: "Rough with the Smooth", "Moving On", "Poetry", "I Fell (So You Could Catch Me)", "Footprint", "Between the Lines", "After You", "Exit One", "Friendly Fire" and "Keeping Out the Cold"

• 1999 Presence All Systems Gone

  Tracks: "Matter of Fact" and "Sense of Danger"

• 2010 NUFrequency (title TBA)

  Tracks: "Go That Deep", other tracks TBA

• 2010 New solo album (title TBA)

  Producers, NUFrequency, Charles Webster

  Possible tracks: "Go That Deep", "Promise to You", "If", "Different"

Other tracks

• "Moonraker" (with David Arnold, 1997)
• "On the Shore" (with Saint Etienne, 1994)
• "Push Me Away" (with 10th Planet, 2007)

• "Black Island" (With Air Cuba, 1999)

• "Go That Deep" (with NUfrequency, 2008)
• "Good Intentions" (with Groove Corporation)
• "Faraway Places" (with Groove Corporation)

• "The Look Of Love" (with The Wild Bunch, 1990)
• "Can't Get Over You" (with Lindel Lewis)

• "Heart Of Stone" (with Dave Stewart, 1994)
• "Nobody Knows" (with Guru, 1995)

Critical acclaim

• "Friendly Fire firmly established her as an international soul artist, a fact at least partly attributable to Nelson's ability to write lyrics of much greater depth than is generally associated with the genre." - Lycos review^{[citation needed]}
• "Shara Nelson’s wonderful rich vocals rise above the simple ascending/descending chord structure." - BBC Review^[2]
• "Shara Nelson did most of the vocals and her voice is far more soulful, in the traditional sense of the word, than mine will ever be." - Beth Gibbons of Portishead^[3]

• Nominated for 1995 Mercury Music Award^{[citation needed]}
• Nominated for 3 Brit Awards^{[citation needed]}

References

External links

• Official website
• Allmusic profile