Over the holidays I asked my nineteen-year-old son, a music maven, to name a tune he liked that I probably hadn’t heard. He quickly brought up “What You Don’t Do,” by Lianne La Havas.
Blew me away. Still does. Can’t get enough of it.
It’s not just her soulful voice and delivery, but the arrangement. Wow. Such a swingy groove, with a beat recalling Sly and the Family Stones‘ Hot Fun in the Summertime. Both are in 12/8 time, with piano chords pounding an eighth-note rhythm over rising bass notes. (See the opening sheet music here and here.)
And the changes… the changes. Wow. The lyrics, and her delivery, have this teasing peek-a-boo to them that’s like nothing else I know. (But hey, I miss a lot.)
I see she’s on tour and sold out across the States, but not yet in Europe. Catch her if you can.
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