actually, I think R & B might be coming out of a slump.....it really seems
liek R and B is getting a resurge. Ive still sleptr on angie stone, mainly
because that first single was a remake....it was dope, but it was a remake
of a dope song. but when I saw the video for everyday, I realized she must
be about something and i plan to get it.. Also Macy Gray....she is not
sooo special, but way ahead of Destiny's child, and all the other
Timbaland beat inspired R and B. Or eric Benet's success. I think with
Lauryn Hills popularity, people are accepting/realizing nicer R and
B...Dangelo was number 1 on billboard, and probably will reach platinum in
a few weeks.
On Tue, 15 Feb 2000, Stimp wrote:
> Hey Listees,
>
>
> Maybe like some of you, I love old Rn'B and soul artists and feel that 99% of what's being put out today doesn't measure up to the oldies. Thankfully, for every thousand Missy Elliots and Foxy Browns, there's an Erykah Badu, so it's with this thought in mind that I picked up the much hyped new D'Angelo rekkid, and the much less touted Angela Stone LP.
>
> Now, Y'all been subject to the same hype surrounding D'Angelo's disc, so maybe you can understand that I was looking pretty forward to hearing an artist that's being compared to greats like Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield and Stevie Wonder.
>
> Ok, so the writeups and the accolades sold me and I put down my cash to buy "Voodoo" the day it came out, quickly tore off the cellophane and popped it into the cd player. I'm expecting magic to come out of the car speakers, but find myself thinking "Hey, this is just some more of that New Jack RnB!". Sure, I can hear the falsetto that reminds me of Prince, and some of the vocals borrow from Sly, but I'm thinking, "where's the soul?" At this point, I remember that most of the writeups mention that the record's complex and needs to grow on you, so rather than returning it immediately, I hang on to it for another ten days and give it another 10-15 listens. I REEEEAAAALLLLLY want this to be the next "Innervisions" or "There's a Riot Goin' On", but I found myself getting angrier with every listen of "Voodoo", thinking that those writeups were simply manufactured by some fatcat at the record company, designed to shill product more effectively. In the end, I returned this poor excuse for a record (str
ongly worded, yes, but my opinion nonetheless) for a refund, frustrated at the thought of having wasted about 20 hours of listening time on a record which did absolutely nothing to differentiate itself from the rest of what passes for RnB these days.
>
> I find experiences like this one frustrating (in a relative sort of way, of course), cos' I don't feel that I'm one of those guys who thinks that everything old is good and that no one has anything fresh to contribute to music anymore. But after having carried around that great white elephant which is D'Angelo for two weeks, I was really quite skeptical about giving any new release a chance. This is precisely what my state of mind was when I came across "Black Diamond" by Angie Stone. To be honest, I hadn't heard a thing about her, but her album cover shows her sporting a 'fro, so I decided to give the disc a listen at the listening booth. For the record, Rolling Stone, gave it a five-star review and called it an instant classic (that's what the sticker on the cover said), but seeing that "Voodoo" got the same treatment, I wasn't buying any of that. The 'fro on the cover compelled me to listen, and what I heard really surprised me. When listening to D'Angelo, I was 99% sold on the rekkid before l
istening to it, wanting so bad for it to be the real deal. Well in the case of "Black Diamond" I fully expected my 1% curiosity to go absolutely nowhere, and was very pleasantly surprised to find myself digging this one.
>
> I reluctantly dropped my dough and took this one home, almost resigned to the fact that a few more listens would cause me to turn tail once again for the refund counter. Seeing Marvin Gaye's "Trouble Man" and Lenny Kravitz's "Heaven Help" didn't exactly help to dissipate that feeling; U gotta be crazy to think you can cover Marvin Gaye and get away with it!! Guess what, I'm still reaching for the record today, about two weeks and 50 listens later. This disc is a must have for any fans of Aretha, Marvin, Curtis, Isaac and the like. It's too early to call it a classic, but it's making a really strong case for itself, as far as I'm concerned. In covering "Trouble Man" Angie Stone, makes no attempt to carbon copy the original, opting rather for a tougher, Neneh Cherryesque flavour while remaining unique and distinct. I've yet to read a review on Black Diamond, but as far as I'm concerned, this one hits in all the places where "The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill" missed, with "Voodoo" miles away from the
ballpark. Pure joy, without all the hype.
>
>
> Stimp
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Feb 16 2000 - 19:00:30 MET