Here goes my reply:<P>>stevie: SONGS IN THE... was held back <BR>>for 2 and a half years. <P>You just made my original point. 2 and 1/2 years doesn't equal 5 years. <P>Berry was crying his eyes out. <BR>>no one at motown was hittin <BR>>like that $$$$. and when it <BR>>did come out. the village voice <BR>>panned it. rolling stone panned it. <BR>>cream panned it. (yes, songs in <BR>>the key of life) then money <BR>>waits another 3 years and releases <BR>>JOURNEY THROUGH THE SECRECT LIFE OF <BR>>PLANTS he took an ass whippin <BR>>for this one. now 3 years <BR>>ain't shit. but then? shit was <BR>>a lifetime. and when HOTTER THAN <BR>>JULY came out (steve's true follow <BR>>up to SONGS 4 YEARS MIND <BR>>YOU).....critics havn't been impressed since innervisons. <BR>>BUT OF COURSE THE PEOPLE SPOKE <BR>>THROUGH TIME. <P>Yep...and many albums that were considered to be brilliant IMMEDIATELY UPON RELEASE, after time and further inspection, were rethought years or even decades later not to have much musical, creative or social impact. I'm always suspicious of the works of art that seem to immediately resonate with such large audiences and critical bases, although I can respect their rights to have opinions about musical tastes.<P>>marvin: everyone knows that marvin was notorius <BR>>for writers block (thus the mostly <BR>>instrumental TROUBLE MAN, 2 LIVE RECORDS <BR>>IN 2 YEARS, and all those <BR>>instrumental passes on I WANT YOU.) <BR>>not to mention david ritz himself <BR>>(marvin biographer) says that all of <BR>>HERE MY DEAR is freestyle. (sheeit <BR>>just try reciting the words to <BR>>"when did you stop loving me?" <BR>>without fail. 6 minutes of madness!!!!!) <BR>><BR>You're preaching to the choir here..and again, making my point. "Here, My Dear" is arguably his greatest collective piece of work. It commercially flopped, and within another year or so, he was able to put out another album. No artificial release dates, no hyping, no bullshit. It really shouldn't take a musician five years to come out with excellent product. Ask Me'shell, who within the five years between D's two, put out three great ones of her own. <P>>and prince?- PURPLE RAIN is his moment <BR>>in the sun. no one gave <BR>>a fuck about him til purple <BR>>rain ("dirty mind is a classic!!!!" <P>I might be dating myself here, but peeps WERE diggin' Prince way before "Purple Rain", critics and fans alike...and especially white music critics, who often gave him more love than Black press. He had just not had a commercial opus until the two-year mad rush of "1999" / followed by "Rain". <P>>whatever, y'all know y'all discovered that <BR>>shit in 85 after the movie <BR>>came out.!) and then he churned <BR>>out one mediocre record after another................(post <BR>>sign that is).<P>Prince's worst ish is better than 80% of the ish on the radio for the past 10 years. I'd rather Prince to keep putting out records like he wants to than to stall for release of one album for a half a decade. But hey, I guess that's just me. <P>>so my point is....no one pleases everybody. <BR>>personally these records made me into <BR>>the person who i am today. <BR>>but please don't go around blind <BR>>thinkin that THE MASTERS went through <BR>>the 70's unscathed just because the <BR>>people ignored naysayers and made these <BR>>records classics. <P>I didn't mean to imply that the artists from a previous generation were unscathed. I did, however, state that they consistently and regularly gave us excellent releases, and it didn't take them five years to do so (in most cases, around a year).<BR> <P>>well you said marvin and steve were <BR>>briliant. and you could easily mitch <BR>>match innervisons, fullilingness, and songs. hands <BR>>down. <P>True..much of which can be attributed to an artist's indistinguishable "style" or personal distinction. But again, we didn't have to wait five years to listen to whatever progession there was (or wasn't). <P>>well i now know who between you <BR>>and me is in the industry <BR>>and who is not. <BR>>voodoo was finished in august of 99. <BR>>we spent 6 months waiting for <BR>>lauryn to make up her mind....as <BR>>for magazines...well....no one says "imma take <BR>>a photo then i'll do "send <BR>>it on" backrounds." sorry press starts <BR>>once album is done. there are <BR>>some exceptions however. one can take <BR>>a photo and record at the <BR>>same time. <P>Sorry, my man..I really have to take exception with you here. I'm very much "in the industry", for better or for worse. I was actually in the room when Don Ienner (of Columbia) spoke to the heads of Cheeba regarding the Lauryn / D duet. This was almost exactly a year ago today, and the album had been competed WAY before that. I had copies of about 8 of the tracks on "Voodoo" for the past 18 months, and they're in the same versions that there were commercially released! The only thing not completed was the duet, which I can vouch definintely was not on the album because (as you say) L Boogie was "was waiting to make up her mind", but actually because of licensing issues with her label Columbia. Simply put, D did the "Nothing Really Matters" on her joint for free because they love and respect each other so much, but when it came time for L to return the favor on D'a album for gratis, Columbia wasn't having it! (And you can quote me on that). So don't put this on L....the decision NOT to release "Voodoo" on its SEVERAL scheduled release dates over the past two years was made LONG BEFORE the duet was even in the works. I'm not gonna say D or L is to blame for that. And since you're in the industry, you'll recall that press on D's COMPLETED album started back in 1997 (!!!) when he appeared shirtless on the cover of XXL proclaimed as "The Second Coming". The album was all but pressed up back then. Again, these were behind-the-scenes decisions made by execs to optimize sales on a potential superstar. My original point is that with release strategies like this, everyone loses, especially music lovers.<BR>><BR>><BR>>Real music doesn't require <BR>>>all that hype artificial release dates <BR>>>to build a big fan base....if <BR>>>he is a real musical genius, <BR>>>then it'll find an audience!<P>>well. you sound disgruntled. hey that's you. <BR>>as for me (or us) we <BR>>never said anything about "king of <BR>>soul" or we are the best. <BR>>(however i wanna know.....what are the <BR>>reqiurements of king in your book? <P>I never crowned anyone "King of Soul", and never used that term in my posting. That's a road paved with hyperbole that I choose not to travel. <P>>who are you comparing this boy to? brian mcknight? ginuwine? case?......black thought? who money? <P>I really think you missed the point of my original post.<BR>:~(<P>>>Now he faces the problem that the <BR>>>expectations on the album were along <BR>>>the lines of a "Songs In <BR>>>The Key" meets "A Kind of <BR>>>Blue" cum "Sign Of The Times"....and <BR>>>it doesn't meet that hype. Although <BR>>>I like the project, it surely <BR>>>doesn't break any new musical ground <BR>>>like expected. In a five <BR>>>year wait, we could have gotten <BR>>>three to five albums of similar <BR>>>quality from him. <BR>>>I don't feel ripped off, but I <BR>>>do feel let down. <P>> well save the receipt and i <BR>>hope your savior comes save you <BR>>from the soul sky..... .....i don't <BR>>know about y'all imma funk til <BR>>then wit my boy <P>I would never return this album. I have over 5,000 albums and haven't returned one yet. I did say it was a good album. I'm sorry that "good" simply isn't enough for you when it comes to "Voodoo". I simply don't see it as "groundbreaking" as hyped. But it IS good music.