The palettes of many soul music lovers were given a treat with last week's May 3rd release
of Carmen Rodgers' deluxe edition of The Bitter Suite. The re-release is chock-full
of goodies like the bonus track "What Hurts You," which has become an instant
favorite, and two Salah Ananse remixes, one of which includes his soulful house refix on the heartbreakingly
beautiful "It's Me," which brings the sad song to life on the dance floor. It is no easy feat to successfully touch on love from both ends of
the spectrum, and to do so in a way that speaks truth to every part of this most universal
of emotions. This album manages to do just that, which gives a playful (and
quite clever) nod to the title of this project when one thinks of the balance that must be
achieved in life, i.e. taking the bitter with the sweet. A perfect example being the song "Home." This
breezy almost jazzy track left me wondering why no one told me that healing from heartache doesn't have to include melancholic musings and angry rants of the tire-slashing
nature. Carmen sings, "You said you want to come home, but home is where the heart lived. And I just
want to move on. So should you." We should all wish our breaks ups to be this amicable, but I digress. As we move further into spring, The Bitter Suite: The Deluxe Edition is not only fitting
for these lighter days but will also hold us over as we await more from Ms. Rodgers.
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