opinions are like assholes.
On Thu, 24 Feb 2000, Dirk van den Heuvel wrote:
> Well I bought both the new D'Angelo CD and Angie Stone CD and overall I'm
> very disappointed by both of them. It's not anything as abstract as what
> their influences are or aren't, or that I am or ain't diggin' their
> vibe/sound/etc, it's just the songs aren't that good. Plain and f'ing
> simple. These are the kinds of CDs that compilation tapes (or mini discs in
> my case) were made for. Take the 3-4 great tracks off the D'Angelo album and
> the 2 tracks I like off Angie Stone and put them on a mini disc compilation.
> I hardly buy any music we don't distribute. When I do it's almost always
> r&b. I had high hopes for these records. I WANTED to like them. But,
> listening to them I was struck with the feeling that the songs just weren't
> at the level I expected. YMMV but that's my opinion.
>
> Dirk van den Heuvel (dirkv@groovedis.com)
> Groove Distribution
> http://www.groovedis.com
> Your Guide To The Underground
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Deep Soul [mailto:jjeudy@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2000 11:24 AM
> To: acid-jazz@ucsd.edu
> Subject: My last rites about Voodoo...
>
>
>
> I think that a lot of people who are downing the album have put themselves
> outside it's reach. To say that it doesn't encompass that old-skool soul
> flavor is to clearly miss the mark. Influences of greats like Sly, Marvin,
> and Prince are well apparent. However, D'angelo adds a jazzy yet still
> soulful spin to his expression. In comparison, a song like "Heaven Must Be
> Like This", or "Your Precious Love" done by both D'Angelo and Erykah Badu
> would probably be more palatable since it's more of a classic soul style.
>
> It's ironic that Stimp mentioned how much he disliked "Voodoo" and how much
> he liked "Black Diamond" by Angie Stone. Both artists have worked together
> for several years and are VERY close friends (close like D being the father
> of one of her children!) If you check closely, most of the songs written on
> Voodoo are co-written by Angie Stone. "Everyday" on Angie's album was
> co-produced with D'Angelo.
> Not surprisingly, I get similar enjoyment from both of these albums.
>
> Initially, I had reservations about Voodoo since hearing Devil's Pie which
> came out back in '98. For me, I thought this was what to expect of D's album
> and thus I wasn't pressed on getting it. Now that it's out, yeah there's
> tons of reviews, shots and praises about the album. My General Rule: why am
> I going to let the opinion of people swayed by winds of expectation and
> their own biases affect how I feel about an artist and his music.
> There are only two entities to really compare this album with: the generic
> radio tune from the various urban hit factories
> (BadBoy/Timbaland/DarkChild/etc); and D'Angelo's first album, Brown Sugar. I
> shouldn't have to explain the differences in the first category. But it's
> really into looking where D has been to what he's trying to do now that the
> real enjoyment comes. I loved Brown Sugar and it definitely stands out among
> less aspiring r&b albums, but it still left me wanting for something. Maybe
> someting personal that I DID get from Badu, or more recently Amel Larrieux
> (foreshadowing...) Even he admits in his liners that he could easily have
> used the same formulas and aproach towards this album and enjoyed similar
> success as he did previously. But this was personal project to expand his
> artistic self and to honor those possesive forces and people that drive him
> to make music. "Untitled" is out and out an ode to the now untitled artist.
> Instead of drum machines and snappy samples, you have talent the like of Roy
> Hargrove, Charlie Hunter, Ahmir Thompsoin of The Roots, and Raphael Saadiq
> to add a living spirit to the album. Listen to each song... Recognize that
> each is done without overdubs or looped orchestrations. This isn't radio
> playlist music for passive ears. Every cuts is a live jam that echoes in
> your mind when you open yourself to it. You can't just browse through it
> like you can a Marvin Gaye or otherwise more "formatted" album because the
> format is different. The same way you can just browse through Miles Davis or
> Sun Ra.
>
> What I would tell anyone about this album is to ignore everything that you
> have heard and remove all expectation. Listen and enjoy it like you would
> that smokey jazz club away from the pop life. See if you too get caught up
> in the voodoo.
>
> Deep_Soul
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>
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