#488 on Rolling Stone's Top 500 Albums Of All Time.
Often underestimated because of his typical generic R&B star looks, D'Angelo is one of the last Mohicans of soul. In 1995, his debut album
Brown Sugar turned heads with its refreshing organic sound - Heavy use of Fender rhodes, a jazzy sound, obvious Prince and Al Green influences, but clearly with roots in hiphop as well. It was a welcome deviation from other "urban" music, since R&B was slowly becoming a monster in the mid 90's.
His talent was pretty evident from the start, and was one of the most, if not the most important jumpstart for the so-called "neo-soul" movement. Sadly, this hasn't been a very fruitful scene. Only a handful of "neo-soul" (i hate that term..) artists are worth checking out, and in my opinion none of them achieved the level of the pioneers, with Lauryn Hill's solo debut being one of D'Angelo's few worthy adversaries i can think of.
Just 20 at the time, this son of a preacher did almost the entire album by himself, playing nearly all the instruments. And he did very well.
However, this urge to have everything in control might have been the reason why it took five years to come up with this sophomore album, 2000's
Voodoo. A third hasn't been made yet, and probably will take a while since no release date is known yet.
This time, there are a lot of guest musicians. I think that was a good idea, because even though he can play a lot of instruments pretty well and does so on many songs, the skill of people like Charlie Hunter and Pino Paladino adds more depth to the album and just makes it more enjoyable.
1 - Playa Playa
The album starts off which sounds like a voodoo ceremony. Pretty soon, a smooth funky guitar lick starts, bass and drum set a groove. When the horns kick in, you know that you're in for something good. Very funky, a great song to set the mood for the rest of the album. Roy Hargrove is real smooth with the horns. Great song, perhaps a bit long.
4/5
2 - Devil's Pie
Originally written for a soundtrack, this is the only song on the album which uses a DJ and electronic instrumentation. I kinda like it, but it seems out of place. Would have been better off as a B-side.
2.5/5
3 - Left & Right
This is a real catchy funky song, but sadly it features rappers Redman and Method Man. Even though i like Redman and Meth is alright, it doesn't feel like they belong on this album. The lyrics are pretty corny too. That really drags the song down and along with track #2 it disturbs the mood of the album, which is otherwise very consistent. But it's a pretty nice tune.
2.75/5
4 - The Line
This song consists of a continuous groove of bass, low-boost filtered guitar and a lot of layered falsetto vocals. It's quite good, although a bit repetetive. Five minutes is too long.
3/5
5 - Send It On
A very sexy ballad, this is one of the highlights on the album. There's not much more to say other than that it's just very good, although one thing i like to point out is the bridge. Sheer excellence. Such delicacy.
5/5
6 - Chicken Grease
Another highly intoxicating song... i hate to use the word "funky" again but there isn't any other word i can think of that sums it up as well. Pino Paladino on the bass with a SICK bassline... this song is really simple, but very good.
4/5
7 - One Mo'Gin
I love this song. Basically a song about reminiscing about a past love (apparently the song title means "one more time" in ebonic, lol). Lovely.
4.25/5
8 - The Root
One of two songs that feature Charlie Hunter, a nice little fact is that he played the bassline and guitar simultaneously (also during the solo) on his 8-string. Basic heartbreak theme, but very well executed. The chorus does get repeated a lot near the end though, could have been a minute shorter. Still, good song.
4.5/5
9 - Spanish Joint
If you haven't heard this song, please do youself a favor and download it. This is by far the best song on the album IMHO, an all-time favorite actually. There's a latin and jazz fusion theme going on, and the instrumentation is simply flawless.
Once again Charlie Hunter doing bass and guitar licks/solo at the same time.
Breathtaking
5/5
10 - Feel Like Makin' Love
A cover, originally by Roberta Flack. Thumping bass, buttersmooth horns, subtle guitar, this is a very nice happy-slappy-feel good song. Makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
4.25/5
11 - Greatdayindamornin' / Booty
Great groove... just a tad too long. The last part (Booty) is very nice as well.
4/5
12 - Untitled (How Does It Feel)
I officially nominate this as the sexiest song ever. There's so much sexual energy dripping of this you can smell it. This sounds so much like a Prince ballad it's uncanny. But you can't just dismiss it as a ripoff for one simple reason - it's just really good. The way the delicate beginning builds up to an outburst of euphoria is great. The end is weird though, like someone suddenly pulled the plug. Nevertheless, amazing music.
5/5
13 - Africa
After the orgasmic outburst of the previous song, this sets a very fitting mood. A dreamy glockenspiel-like melody sets the main tone of the song (it's actually a Fender rhodes with the top taken off, the metal thingies mic-ed directly). Beautiful melody. I can't relate to the lyrics though. But who cares... it's good.
4.5/5
The reason i decided to review this is because i hardly ever hear anyone mention this guy here. Although that partially may be because he works at a Reznorian pace, i think he deserves some credit.
I bought it the week it came out, and after 4 years it's still a rewarding listen. The album does have its flaws though: the length - it clocks in at just under 80 minutes. A few songs could have been left out, others could have been a bit shorter.
Another issue is the production. While the arrangements are superb, this sounds more like a hiphop album sonically. Loud bass, hard snares... It does add an overall gritty sound which is effective in places, but in the songs that have more subtle parts it's slightly annoying.
Bottom line, this is a very enjoyable album by an overlooked talent with a few weak spots, but some very strong material.
