Nell Carter- Back in the Highlife Again
Honestly, this Steve Winwood song never really moved me, but I can’t get enough of Nell Carter’s performance. This arrangement is almost military, with horns and marchy drums, and is a fevered tribute to Nell’s brother who died of AIDS. There is so much heart, soul, blood and tears in this performance, it moves an 80s cliché into the realm of a touching, moving ballad. Nell’s dirge is powerful, and sad, but uplifiting. Very layered, and gorgeous. In the back drop of the AIDS crisis, especially in the early 90s when droves and droves of people were dying in the US, and it was still generally frowned upon as a gay disease, Nell Carter defiantly plays Antigone, and propitiates her dead, no matter what anyone thinks- she celebrates her brother’s life in spite of her parents and her religion, and looks forward to better times. Truly, unironically beautiful.
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