“Watch Your Step” closes the entire set on Rapture and what a closer it is… we may discuss this further this month but “Watch Your Step” illustrates a lot of what’s missing from the landscape in music and that is so many have moved so far from the Blues root of the music that there simply is a void.
The best analogy I can think of is it’s like trying to bake a cake without eggs. You don’t necessarily taste the eggs, but you would certainly miss them if they weren’t in the cake mix(pun intended). You may have noticed this month that whenever possible we’ve tried to post live performance clips of Anita’s music, that is definitely by design. Live is where the music happens, it’s the spirit, sure recording and recordings are great but really the purpose of a recording is to capture the moment and unfortunately it has become the moment for far too many.
Songs and performances like this one should challenge and encourage artists to practice their craft. It’s no accident that we are still discussing Anita Baker’s music all these years later and still look forward to catching her live on stage… the secret is she used and continues to use eggs in her mix.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
