''Bitter'' is the third album by

Meshell Ndegeocello Meshell Ndegeocello ( ; born Michelle Lynn Johnson on August 29, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on some of her mid-career work. ...

. It was released on August 24, 1999, on

Maverick Records Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Warner Music Group and run by recording artist Madonna, as well as Frederick DeMann and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev. It included a record label ( Maverick Records), a film producti ...

. The album peaked at #105 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Top 200 in 1999. The album also peaked at number 13 on ''Billboard's'' Top Internet Albums chart and number 40 on ''Billboard's'' R&B Albums chart.

Critical reception

'' called the album "a modern masterpiece," writing that it "shines for its sonic presence as well as its inherent musical quality." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that "its rhythms flow in circulatory patterns guided by Ms. Ndegeocello's bass playing; guitars, strings and her guarded vocals intertwine like brain waves." The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' called it "one long bittersweet downer." ''

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

'' called ''Bitter'' the "Album of the Year." The ''

Hartford Courant The ''Hartford Courant'' is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is advertised as the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States. A morning newspaper serving most of the state north of New Haven and ...

'' wrote that "though ''Bitter'' attempts to explore ambitious life themes about loyalty, faith, love and beauty, it instead commits the mortal sin of dullness."

Track listing

#"Adam" ( Meshell Ndegéocello) – 2:24 #"Fool of Me" (Ndegéocello,

Federico González Peña Federico González Peña (born c. 5 February 1966) is a Uruguayan-Argentine jazz pianist and keyboardist. After being taught by the renowned classical pianist Antonio De Raco, he moved to the United States in 1984 to pursue his studies at the Berk ...

) – 3:30 #"Faithful" (Ndegéocello,

David Gamson David Gamson is an American keyboardist/musician (also a producer, songwriter, arranger, engineer). Originally hailing from New York, he has worked with, among others, Kesha, Kelly Clarkson, Jessie J, Adam Lambert, Chaka Khan, Charli XCX, Meshel ...

) – 4:46 #"Satisfy" (Ndegéocello, Peña) – 4:05 #"Bitter" (Ndegéocello) – 4:15 #"May This Be Love" (

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

) – 5:17 #"Sincerity" (Ndegéocello,

Doyle Bramhall II Doyle Bramhall II (born December 24, 1968) is an American guitarist, producer and songwriter best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters. He is the son of the songwriter and drummer Doyle Bramhall. Early life Bramhall was born ...

) – 5:30 #"Loyalty" (Ndegéocello, Allen Cato) – 4:20 #"Beautiful" (Ndegéocello) – 2:44 #"Eve" (

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

, Roger Moutenot) – 1:23 #"Wasted Time" (Ndegéocello) – 4:55 #"Grace" (Ndegéocello) – 4:27

Personnel

Musicians

(instruments are not stated in the booklet) * Meshell Ndegéocello – vocals, electric bass, additional instruments * Lisa Coleman – piano, keyboards *

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

– guitar *Chris Bruce – guitar, bass *

– guitar *

Ronny Drayton Ronny Drayton (May 19, 1953 – February 7, 2020) was a guitarist based in the New York City area and Monroe, New York. Born and raised in South Jamaica, Queens, New York City, Drayton started out playing drums at St. Clement The Pope Middle ...

– electric guitar *

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, banjo, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage ba ...

–

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(11) *

– guitar * Abraham Laboriel Jr. – drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

*Daniel Sadownick – percussion *Biti Straug – background vocals *Arif St. Michael – background vocals *

Joe Henry Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums. Early life H ...

– vocals (11) *Sandra Park – violin *Sharon Yamada – violin *Robert Rinehart –

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

*Alan Stepansky –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

*Steve Barber –

string arrangements The string section of an orchestra is composed of bowed instruments belonging to the violin family. It normally consists of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. It is the most numerous group in the standard orchestra. In ...

Technical

Craig Street Craig Street, born in Oakland, California, is a noted record producer. Street moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 11, but returned to the Bay Area for his high school years. He began playing guitar at age 14, and was in a number ...

– producer *

Dusty Wakeman Donald "Dusty" Wakeman is an American rock music, rock/country music producer and engineer based in Burbank, California. Wakeman is also credited as a bass player on many recordings. Dusty has worked with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Jim Laud ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

(Mad Dog Studios, Burbank, California) * S. Husky Höskulds – engineer for additional recordings (

Sunset Sound Factory The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...

, Los Angeles, California) *Tom Schick – engineer for additional recordings (

Sear Sound Walter Edmond Sear (27 April 1930 – 29 April 2010) was an American recording engineer, musician, instrument importer and designer, inventor, composer and film producer. He was considered a pioneer in the use of the synthesizer and an expert on ...

, New York) *Elijah Bradford, Rafael Serrano, Chris Ribando, Joseph Turner – second engineers *Roger Moutenot – mixing (Sunset Sound Factory, Los Angeles) *Joseph Turner – mixing assistant *

Greg Calbi Gregory Calbi (born April 3, 1949) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound, New Jersey. Biography Greg Calbi was born on April 3, 1949, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bayside, Queens, New York. He graduated in 1966 from Bishop ...

– mastering (

Sterling Sound George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

, New York) *Paul Thompson – production assistant *Kai Morrison – project coordination *

Kevin Reagan Kevin Reagan is a three-time Grammy Award-winning graphic designer/art director, also honored by the AIGA, ''Print'', and ''Communication Arts''. He has created artwork for critically and commercially acclaimed albums by Madonna, The Foo Figh ...

– art direction, design * Gail Swanlund – design * Sheryl Nields – photography

References

{{Authority control Meshell Ndegeocello albums 1999 albums Albums produced by Craig Street Maverick Records albums