Let's face it; being produced by Prince can go either way. Sometimes his eccentricities pay off tenfold; sometimes he's so damn quirky you'd almost think he didn't want anyone to buy his music. Therefore, hearing that Chaka Khan collaborated with Prince for an entire album will either fill you with breathless anticipation (will Chaka elicit new shades of purple?) or pending doom (will she trust him too blindly in the interest of trying something new?). Luckily for all involved, "Come 2 My House" is a triumph all around: His Royal Badness shakes the production tendencies that made Sheila E. and Jill Jones sound like they were merely singing over Prince demos, and Chaka winds up with the most consistent and carefully-measured album of her career.
The listener gets a jolt right off the bat; rhythmically exhaling over bass-heavy beats, Chaka ushers in lush piano chords and a classy horn section to make the title track just as much straight jazz as it is pop, and it works as a most effective opener. When Chaka sweetly croons "come to my house/where we can play," it's enough to send you scrambling through the credits in hopes of finding an address. Another seamless blend of styles is offered on the exhilirating "Reconsider (U Betta)," where Chaka matches a jazzy horn line with her own formidable scats, all laid over a chunky street beat. "House" also provides shelter to some of Chaka's most mature ballads to date: "This Crazy Life of Mine" is a lovely, string-laden piece of autobiography; lines like "never will forget from whence I came/I have some regrets but I made myself a name" rings profoundly from a woman who clearly knows how to weigh the pros and cons of life. "I Remember You" is a sweet and wistful piece of pop that benefits from an intricate arrangement, and "Journey 2 the Center of Your Heart" tells the touching tale of a woman in love wearing down the resistance of a troubled soul.
But what truly warms the soul is the fact that Chaka hasn't served up a dose of funk this healthy since her days with Rufus. "Betcha I" has hooks and beats that are equally irresistible; "Spoon" soars with layered vocals and smile-worthy lyrics like "you are just like my favorite spoon/'cause you stir me up"; and Queen Latifah steps in to offer a helping hand (not that it was needed, but the more the merrier) on the funk-heavy, innuendo-laden "Pop My Clutch." Chaka even gets down and dirty on "Never B Another Fool," roughly laying her no-good lover out with lines like "I'll never open my legs again/to a man who's insecure." (You GO, girl!...equally chilling is the spoken line "if you think about callin...DON'T.") The funkiest cut is actually one of the slowest, however, as the horn section and bass line make "Hair" such an enticing cut that you may well find your head bobbing involuntarily.
Also pleasing are Chaka's vocals throughout the record; she seems to gain more control and power of her remarkable instrument as the years go by. And while Prince's production is detectable at times (a horn riff here, a guitar effect there), the easiest giveaway that this is a purple production is the spelling of the song titles. It's always nice to see an artist release a solid project later in their career, and it's just as satisfying to hear two formidable artists collaborate and bring out the best in each other; in both respects "Come 2 My House" is a masterpiece, as Prince and Chaka Khan marry elements of pop, jazz, and funk in coherent manner few others have attempted and even fewer have achieved. Thanks to Chaka's "House," the quality of living just went up in the neighborhood of soul.
For jazz and funk fans, Chaka's "House" is a home
Despite a few creative songs, it's a mediocre CD.
14 tracks
