*Review submission date

first of all i think D'angelo has talent.but five years for this? the positives the music doesn't sound like the junk that's out here now and real instrumentation.the songs that stood out are the root,Spanish Joint is the best cut,Untitled(how does it feel) is the best cut prince hasn't done in years.the stuff that doesn't work left&right with method man&redmen that makes no sense.most of the album sounds just like the last one.you have to change your groove.it has catchy riffs like on the song feel like making love the classic song by Roberta Flack with the horn part.but it suffers from too much sameness aside from the tracks with Roy Hargrove&charlie Hunter who plays solid axe.the track AFRICA from the start with that drum track is a bite of I wonder u by Prince&the revolution from the parade album under the cherry moon soundtrack.he should just get into Prince's band.musically he is not on Prince's level.he should not take five years for much of the sameness.his baby's moma Angie Stone has a way better album than this check that out.it's one thing to be influenced by someone it's another to be stuck in there mirror.D'angelo,Maxwell,Lenny Kravitz are talented but not on Prince's old level.if you are on Prince's tip and want to be cleaver listen to MESHALLNDEOCELLO. shes the closes thing and yet maintains her own thing.the next one by D should not take 5 years.you have to be a superstar and not a clone.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2BADMYGD7MD7A/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B000035X1M&nodeID=&tag=&linkCode=


Say what you want about maxxx and his opinion(s) of D'Angelo, but you can't call him a retroactive hater. He actually gave Voodoo three stars. And trust me, compared to the one and two-star reviews this was tame.

I used to kill hours reading maxxx's reviews back in the day

And he's passionate about it. I can't be mad at that, even when I don't share his opinion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome

Savant syndrome, sometimes referred to as savantism, is a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations.

Though it is even rarer than the savant condition itself, some savants have no apparent abnormalities other than their unique abilities. This does not mean that these abilities weren't triggered by a brain dysfunction of some sort but does temper the theory that all savants are disabled and that some sort of trade-off is required.

What the blood claaat ???

What the blood claaat ???

wow, i think that i'm impressed


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"It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"

I knew of maxxx from the org back then so when I stumbled upon his review it stuck with me... I thought he nailed it on voodoo then and it's an even truer read today.
_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

>I knew of maxxx from the org back then so when I stumbled
>upon his review it stuck with me... I thought he nailed it on
>voodoo then and it's an even truer read today.

"the positives the music doesn't sound like the junk that's out here now and real instrumentation."

the rest was pretty close to how I felt as well. it's kind of a damning account of the late '90s/early '00s

I was on my backpack rap, "why do you choose to listen to r&b" steeze at that point, as I HATED contemporary r&b in the mid to late nineties. Voodoo was perfect for me because of the live instrumentation, jam-like feel, hip-hop leanings and P**** influences. Sure the "songs" may have lacked melody and D may have been mumbling for most of it but I enjoyed the vibe, and was happy to have an alternative to "No more shopping sprees, no more V.I.P.s" and the like. That was enough for me. I'm not so attached to it that I can't understand or hear the fair criticisms of the album though.

and I was more a rap listener in the 1990s for similar reasons.

>Sure the "songs" may have lacked melody

It's like saying "sure she has a dick but..." Like nothing else that comes after that matters.

Melody is what attracts me to most songs... it's one of the reasons why I dug Remy Shand even when cats were clowin' on this board. Now what I would have really dug was having D lay his vocals over "The Way I Feel" album... that would have been the best of both worlds.
_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

>It's like saying "sure she has a dick but..." Like nothing
>else that comes after that matters.

Dude... Touching the titties a little bit ain't gonna hurt, man!

>Now what I would have really dug was having D lay
>his vocals over "The Way I Feel" album... that would have been
>the best of both worlds.

pun intended?

(and cosign, btw)

>Dude... Touching the titties a little bit ain't gonna hurt,
>man!



_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

...being a full blown hip-hop head at the time. I liked the "sound" of that album. To me it was a soul album for and by rap (influenced) dudes, but not in that Jaheim, Ghetto Luv type of way.

That said, I've been listening to There's A Riot... a lot lately and that album is full of mumbling, noodling and melody-less songs as well. I guess Sly released enough material before that period to earn the ability to get away with it whereas D had/has not. Either way, I enjoy both albums for their vibe(s), melodies lacked and all. *shrug*

>...being a full blown hip-hop head at the time. I liked the
>"sound" of that album. To me it was a soul album for and by
>rap (influenced) dudes, but not in that Jaheim, Ghetto Luv
>type of way.

If that's what moves you then I can see why you dug it

>That said, I've been listening to There's A Riot... a lot
>lately and that album is full of mumbling, noodling and
>melody-less songs as well. I guess Sly released enough
>material before that period to earn the ability to get away
>with it whereas D had/has not. Either way, I enjoy both albums
>for their vibe(s), melodies lacked and all. *shrug*

Well I'm on record as not being the biggest Sly fan either so...
_________________________________
Reunion Radio Podcasts
Bringing Together Five Decades of R&B/Funk/Soul/Dance

http://reunionradio.blogspot.com/

Despite the muddy production, there's actual songs in there.

Not to mention much, much stronger grooves.

I definitely agree about the grooves though. Listening to Voodoo today, I can recognize that it is somewhat monotonous and rigid.

>Not to mention much, much stronger grooves.

That's why I never got the comparison. As harmonically static as long stretches of TARGO is, there's still a SHITLOAD of kinetic energy and "inner" movement in the grooves with instruments pushing and stretching in all directions-it's almost like electric Miles but done right. That's not the vibe I got from ''Voodoo'' at all...

and the fact that both albums have a somewhat consistent vibe/sound throughout. The only comparison I'd even consider making regarding the instrumentation would be the percussion due to Riot's being (mostly) programmed and ?uest's intentional programmed-esque drumming style on Voodoo. And even that would be a stretch.

ala Big Ghost. wow.

It was verry random, I've then looked for several of his reviews because it's the only way he actually write about the tracks and the music on a particular album ... I find that weird that he doesn't even bother geting into those "details" when he post here.