I went looking in the Archives for posts to link here but they must have been lost in the Archive Loss some years back. Many of the classic posts that were here are gone.
But for those that weren't here back then, this album had to be up there with Stankonia and I Am as the most closely debated albums here at that time.
My own sense of the album was that it was daring but *just* missed that mark of being a true classic. To Pimp A Butterly, at least musically, owes some of its ambition to this album. They both highlighted as aspect of Black music that oftentimes gets overlooked - psychedelia in EC's case and 'free jazz' for TPAB.
The rock / funk elements were interesting but I felt the musical concepts were better than the execution in many cases. I know folks like to talk about Common's lyricism on this album. But while he wasn't spitting flames like he did on Like Water for Chocolate, I felt the lyrical themes were more mature. For instance Between Me, You, and Liberation is one of the most wide-ranging songs, in hip-hop, on forms of love and relationships that are 'overlooked' or taboo. Like being pulled between love of a family member and confusion about sexuality. I always admired Common for doing a 180 from some of the homophobia he mentioned on LWFC. Like a lot of this album, it was a bold leap.
The song that came together for me was I Am Music. Yes, it was tailor-made to be a single, but it was a fresh take of using jazz in hip-hop. I guess a song pulling from the Big Band era could have been corny, but I Am Music had enough of an edge to it. The lyrics were, to me, well done.
But that's not to say that alot of this album isn't really good. I just wanted the virtuosity to match the ambition. That being said, the producers really were paving their own path here. Dilla and the rest of the Soulquarians were on to something but it's hard to both innovate and perfect something at the same time.
It's hard to say that this album was ahead of its time because the evolution of music didn't bend towards avant-garde music. It went in the opposite direction for the most part. But I think the reception of this record has gotten better over the years.
2. "always appreciated it for what it was" In response to Reply # 0
and it does tend to age well. it had a similar structure as LWFC, but different sound aesthetics. so it was both familiar and not. there are many, many heaters on this album. "Star 69" was always my shit. the why-isnt-this-shit-a-single "I Am Music". the straight-forward Riggins banger "The Hustle". the interludes. "Between Me, You and Liberation" not only soundin like honey to the ears musically, but featuring Com at his most mature and introspective. one thing you can always admire about Common, his artistry grows exponentionally, and you're never gonna get the same thing twice ("UMC", anyone?). not to say nothin for one of the most epic album closers in modern r&b/soul history, "Heaven Somewhere". even the Neps managed to tow the line and have at least ONE of their two contributions match the Soulquarian vibe with "Come Close" (on the other hand, "I Got A Right Ta" is a stinking piece of shit and i'm not sure HOW that even remotely made the cut). i love how even Dilla was pushed past his comfort zone when making stuff like "Soul Power", "Electric Wire Hustler Flower" & "New Wave". i think the toughest joint to get into initially was "Jimi Was A Rock Star", but now i appreciate that shit a lot more for the psychedelic goodness that it is.
just remember, this was a hip hop album, by a rap artist. the balls on Com and the Soulquarians to even DO this project were huge. and in a lot of ways, it felt like a logical musical & artistic transition from LWFC. i feel like that camp coulda re-made LWFC over and over and over, but they decided to up the ante instead.
3. "Tend to agree. I loved it from day 1 but ..." In response to Reply # 0 Tue Dec-12-17 09:54 AM by Brew
Agree that the concepts/ambitions were greater than the overall execution. There's more good than bad tho, IMO.
So many bangers though. "I Am Music" is underrated. "Soul Power" is hard as hell. "The Hustle," as someone already said, was your "straightforward" hip-hop joint but still with an edge that fit the album.
"Jimi Was a Rock Star" always disappointed me because it wasn't Common's song. I get what they were going for and I appreciate the homage to a great, but being on Common's album it made no sense. Besides maybe saying "I want to do something for Jimi" it seems like he took zero part in that song. But maybe someone can refresh my memory if he did more than I'm giving him credit for in terms of production or writing on that track.
Only thing I disagree with you on is:
>But while he wasn't spitting flames like he did on Like >Water for Chocolate, I felt the lyrical themes were more >mature.
... I think he was spitting harder on this album, at least on the songs he rapped on. "Soul Power," "The Hustle," "I Got a Right Ta," etc., he was going hard as hell from a lyrical standpoint.
That's not to say he didn't have lyrics on LWFC, he did. I just think he made an effort to be more "finesse" and "style" on LWFC to fit the soulful production, and to kind of mimic his new crew (The Roots/The Soulquarians/Jay Dee), whereas on Electric Circus he went back to just MCing a la One Day It'll All Make Sense.
7. "I still listen to this album" In response to Reply # 0 Wed Dec-13-17 01:45 PM by tariqhu
and still love it. the only missteps are the final two tracks. they were very melancholy songs to end the album that had so much energy in the other songs.
my son, 8, heard new wave in the car and has been requesting it. he also sings Alicia keys This girl is on fire. lol. I lub that kid.
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson
