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Forum nameThe Lesson
Topic subjectThe Roots - Undun reviews
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=2628377
2628377, The Roots - Undun reviews
Posted by handle, Wed Nov-16-11 12:39 AM
This thread might be the official review thread for Undun.


Review #1:
-------------------------------------------
Johnbook put up the first official review earlier today, 11/15/2011.

http://kevinnottingham.com/2011/11/15/the-roots-undun/

I'm not going to swipe it - give him the page views.

Has samples of "Lighthouse" and "The Other Side" that you haven't heard yet.
2628431, man those snippets have me drooling!
Posted by QBoogie, Wed Nov-16-11 09:13 AM
December 6th get here!
2630594, ^^This
Posted by Dix, Mon Nov-21-11 03:43 PM
2628613, awesome
Posted by guru0509, Wed Nov-16-11 01:42 PM

_______________________________
Freddie Gibbs - Cold Day In Hell
LEP Bogus Boys/DJ Green Lantern - Now Or Neva
Pete Rock - NY's Finest
2628753, My impressions
Posted by handle, Wed Nov-16-11 06:09 PM
http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=5&topic_id=2626754&mesg_id=2626754&page=
2628754, Eddie "STATS" 10 Out of 10: Track By Track Preview
Posted by handle, Wed Nov-16-11 06:09 PM
http://www.okayplayer.com/news/10-out-of-10-track-by-track-preview-of-new-roots-lp-undun.html
2630274, If you find any more reviews post em here
Posted by handle, Sun Nov-20-11 06:34 PM
I feel bad for not writing a "full" review. I didn't want to Harry Knowles it.

If you spot any reviews (I have a Google alert set for them) please let met know.

2630619, Press: ?uestlove on the Huffinton post
Posted by handle, Mon Nov-21-11 04:54 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/questlove/undun-the-roots-album_b_1105719.html?ref=uk

2630668, Like on on-going PHD thesis going no where.
Posted by Mr.Ouija, Mon Nov-21-11 07:41 PM
2630869, LittleX: like a hose that is forever huffed.
Posted by Dr Claw, Tue Nov-22-11 09:37 AM
2631202, sounds like a cunninlynguists album n/m
Posted by roaches, Tue Nov-22-11 05:28 PM
2631976, yeah, it does sound like a dope album
Posted by justin_scott, Thu Nov-24-11 12:55 PM
.
2632636, LOL
Posted by cidolfas, Sat Nov-26-11 02:58 PM
2633459, I'm saying like that's a bad thing lol
Posted by Menphyel7, Tue Nov-29-11 09:07 AM
I don't hear that tho
2633838, i didn't mean it in a bad way at all.
Posted by roaches, Tue Nov-29-11 11:26 PM
a piece of strange is a personal classic and oneirology hasn't left regular rotation since it dropped. i meant the comparison more in terms of the approach behind/conceptualization of the album rather than how it actually sounds (i haven't listened to undun yet).
2634974, oh. okay
Posted by justin_scott, Fri Dec-02-11 01:13 PM
.
2637136, which ones better?
Posted by Goose, Wed Dec-07-11 11:54 PM
these two records are in another league (you could probably toss Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues in the mix - a concept record as well, in teh mix).

I might give the slight edge to Roots cuz Thought is a little better of an emcee than Natti, Deac and Kno, but it's really close cuz they rap their asses off on that album.
2641345, yeah..it's epically great.
Posted by jetblack, Tue Dec-20-11 09:06 AM
2632036, The Roots played a snippet Kool On on Jimmy Fallon
Posted by handle, Thu Nov-24-11 02:21 PM
http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/wednesday-november-23-2011/1370505/

Starts at 4:05 , goes to 4:20.
2637208, prolly the only time they'll do it live ...
Posted by QBoogie, Thu Dec-08-11 08:17 AM
... but I hope not!
2632313, These ?uest interviews are like the liner notes,,new interview
Posted by JG., Fri Nov-25-11 12:11 PM
http://www.theboombox.com/2011/11/25/the-roots-undun-album/


A great read IMO.
2632371, definitely a dope read on this one!
Posted by QBoogie, Fri Nov-25-11 04:09 PM
2632376, I didn't even know there was a new album.
Posted by CondoM, Fri Nov-25-11 04:42 PM
?
2632759, Ny Daily news review
Posted by dopeonplastic, Sat Nov-26-11 11:06 PM
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/roots-preview-undun-concept-cd-highline-ballroom-article-1.981459?localLinksEnabled=false
2633134, “Redford”/”Possibility”/”Will To Power” (Stereogum Premiere)
Posted by handle, Mon Nov-28-11 04:10 PM
The Roots – “Redford”/”Possibility”/”Will To Power” (Stereogum Premiere)
http://stereogum.com/889551/the-roots-redfordpossibilitywill-to-power-stereogum-premiere/mp3s/

2633367, Just finished listening... pretty blown away
Posted by HighVoltage, Mon Nov-28-11 10:42 PM
I really need to let it sink in and re-listen with the context of the story in mind... but this is stellar.
2633440, haven't heard the stream
Posted by d-bwoyFLOW, Tue Nov-29-11 05:27 AM
but early opinions i've been reading seem to say it's a big let down.

2633445, oh, yeah?
Posted by ninjitsu, Tue Nov-29-11 06:41 AM
where did you read them?

got links?
2633452, I haven't heard a single negative thing said about the album
Posted by HighVoltage, Tue Nov-29-11 07:49 AM
2633456, Same here, be back later with thoughts n/m
Posted by IslaSoul, Tue Nov-29-11 08:20 AM
2633518, where are y'all hearing it?
Posted by Sunny D, Tue Nov-29-11 11:20 AM
2633537, A low quality rip of a stream was ripped
Posted by handle, Tue Nov-29-11 11:47 AM
It sounds pretty awful.

There was a "review copy" torrent upped on a popular site that was never seeded.

No reliable reports of a good leak yet.

Tip:If you ever want to find ripped music all you have to do is use Google with "Album X LEAKED" and you'll find it , especially if you filter results by the last 24 hours.
2633539, how can i hear this?
Posted by Sunny D, Tue Nov-29-11 11:53 AM
http://www.chartattack.com/news/2011/nov/29/listen-stream-the-roots-new-album-undun-in-full
2633614, I streamed it n/m
Posted by IslaSoul, Tue Nov-29-11 02:33 PM
2633585, Everything I've Heard So Far (Most of It)
Posted by makaveli, Tue Nov-29-11 01:29 PM
has been great. and i haven't read one negative thing yet.
2633587, the album sounds great.
Posted by Sunny D, Tue Nov-29-11 01:31 PM
and i'm sure it's only going to get better as i'm able to follow the storyline
2633609, RE: The Roots - Undun reviews
Posted by soundmandave, Tue Nov-29-11 02:18 PM
Guys its pretty easy to find. I love and hate when these leaks happen. I found it at 128 kbps. As usual, very different sounding album than the last. Thats it.

To all my fellow Charger fans, I read a rumor that Cowher is very interested! Gyeah!
2634427, Shit...
Posted by soundmandave, Thu Dec-01-11 03:25 AM
Not in love with it, at all. 6 listens. Like you all, The Roots are my favorite group by far. Im 33, and discovered my hip hop love in 1995. And grew up on Run DMC and the Beastie Boys. Young MC and shit and Cypress Hill for rap, and EWF, Stevie, Hathaway, DEVO, Sinatra, etc, etc....!!Anyway, Black After Thought's voice is damaged. It is scratchy and very sensitive. And we all heard that on the last two albums. Unfortunetly I believe that is why he isn't front and center anymore.

Lighthouse is what we all want from them now and today. Make my is perfect, but sad. My dad died of cancer last year and the second half of Make My is exactly what we saw when we pulled my dads plug. I love that song's interpretation of soul moving.

But as the biggest Roots fan with the live show miles, fun , and stories to back it up I must admit undun is their worst sounding album. basically the music is boring.

My favorite Roots song is and always will be One Shine.

Stoked I can see them everyday now on Fallon though. Thanks Quest and Thought, you've shaped my life. We wouldn't have Foreign Exchange etc.. unless

But Im not feeling undun
2633629, album is streaming, in full, at NPR (link)
Posted by johnbook, Tue Nov-29-11 03:04 PM
http://n.pr/unduNPR



THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
2633634, has anyone seen a vinyl pre-order?
Posted by rl9, Tue Nov-29-11 03:12 PM
all i see is cd and mp3.
2633655, goddammit at these fuckin choruses
Posted by Ashy Achilles, Tue Nov-29-11 03:59 PM
only a few songs in and dice is terrible
2633665, I disagree
Posted by handle, Tue Nov-29-11 04:11 PM
The only chorus I didn't like was Make My.

And I love the Lighthouse chorus to death!
2633687, good, cause i like make my!
Posted by ninjitsu, Tue Nov-29-11 04:40 PM
2633683, nah, i i don't see any issues with the choruses.
Posted by Sunny D, Tue Nov-29-11 04:34 PM
it all flows well to me.
2633688, good it gets better
Posted by Ashy Achilles, Tue Nov-29-11 04:49 PM
2633698, only one bad to me is One Time. a struggle chorus if i ever heard one.
Posted by FortifiedLive, Tue Nov-29-11 05:25 PM
2633700, I liked that
Posted by handle, Tue Nov-29-11 05:33 PM
Then I start to think what’s the rush
Who wants to be on time
Feeling unlucky and if I ever got lucky it was one time
In this crazy world

I've NEVER had that thought in my life.
2633721, no problems with the content - it's just horribly delivered.
Posted by FortifiedLive, Tue Nov-29-11 06:19 PM
2633726, I Think Dice Did A Great Job On The Hooks
Posted by makaveli, Tue Nov-29-11 06:28 PM
2633839, I agree Dice did great on the hooks
Posted by las raises, Tue Nov-29-11 11:28 PM
2634207, they aren't great but
Posted by sfMatt, Wed Nov-30-11 05:35 PM
they're not bad enough that they matter to me.

lighthouse has a bit of an iffy note that irks me, but other than that nothing is ruined for me.

and I almost want to give him a full pass anyway given how he's spitting.
2634572, Co-Sign
Posted by Dariusx, Thu Dec-01-11 01:29 PM
Hate most of the choruses from post Phrenology (except Game Theory" and the track "How I Got Over". "Make My" is good. I thrown my hands up. They are not going to change this. It's part of what they want to do.

On a better note. Looking forward to seeing them at Highline Ballroom Tues.
2636313, these choruses
Posted by Dix, Tue Dec-06-11 12:24 PM
Yeah, they stand out (not in a good way) when the rest of the track is amazing. I felt the same about HIGO choruses. I got used to the GT ones over time. Hopefully that happens here.
2636849, i like them...it brings balance
Posted by cbk, Wed Dec-07-11 11:55 AM
to an album that had the potential of sounding waaay overproduced.

from ?uest's posts about the recording process, i was expecting a laser-sharp sounding record with no "flaws."

but i was pleasantly surprised that a lot of the vocals sounded like first takes (which was probably not the case at all).

it sounds spontaneous and inspired, rather than labored over.

dice's choruses give it a charm and character.
2638741, I felt this way at first but after letting the album soak in I hear them as
Posted by soulfunk, Mon Dec-12-11 10:13 PM
Redford's voice, and I think flawless singing would take away from that picture in my head. You can kinda hear that the way the vocals are mixed on the hooks that it's the thoughts from Redford's head.
2633696, i wish tip the scale was available as an mp3
Posted by justin_scott, Tue Nov-29-11 05:14 PM
i'd love to hear that in the car.
2633704, are you kidding me? only a few tracks in
Posted by sfMatt, Tue Nov-29-11 05:38 PM
this is pretty spectacular
2633717, RE: The Roots - Undun reviews
Posted by spidey, Tue Nov-29-11 06:12 PM
...hyped...gonna check the npr link later...Peace!
2633727, It's Great
Posted by makaveli, Tue Nov-29-11 06:29 PM
haven't been this excited for an album in a while.
2633743, What the fuck is this? Kool On ?
Posted by QBoogie, Tue Nov-29-11 07:11 PM
Shit 15 wasn't lying when he said theres something on here for everyone. And what in the world is wrong with Gregory Porn? He beasting on this, and while on the topic of that ... Black Thought ? Pssh Super Sayian steez, he's gone beyond. I don't even know man. On my third go round on this stream with the headphones.
2633757, Porn was a beast on HIGO
Posted by sfMatt, Tue Nov-29-11 07:39 PM
I don't understand why folks are acting like he's good *now*
2633758, that's why i'm scratching my head.
Posted by Sunny D, Tue Nov-29-11 07:44 PM
he's been dope on all their releases.
2633773, RE: Porn was a beast on HIGO
Posted by QBoogie, Tue Nov-29-11 08:23 PM
I overlooked him on RD, HIGO I was more impressed and would have really wanted to hear like Malik B on "Right On" (that beat was somewhat calling him), MMJB was the nail in the coffin, but I think he outdid himself on this one. Shit was stellar and not just him, everyone came correct on the spittage on this go round.
2634197, fuck me, forgot this is his third
Posted by sfMatt, Wed Nov-30-11 05:09 PM
I mean I've enjoyed him since the first time they put him on...
2633809, Phenomenal.
Posted by stankpalmer, Tue Nov-29-11 10:02 PM
2633817, the end of tip the scale is beautiful.
Posted by justin_scott, Tue Nov-29-11 10:31 PM
Excellent. Except dice raw's intro to lighthouse.
2633826, I kind of agree
Posted by handle, Tue Nov-29-11 10:58 PM
>Excellent. Except dice raw's intro to lighthouse.


Could have dizun without it.
2633820, I'm lovin Lighthouse
Posted by Nick Has a Problem...Seriously, Tue Nov-29-11 10:40 PM
2635397, Kool On is probably my fav though
Posted by Nick Has a Problem...Seriously, Sat Dec-03-11 11:12 PM
2641347, Kool on and Lighthouse of my favorite songs of the year really.
Posted by jetblack, Tue Dec-20-11 09:17 AM
2633821, off my first few listens, im not into this at all
Posted by Oak27, Tue Nov-29-11 10:40 PM
ill try again when i get the real copy and not a stream though
2633840, I just finished listening to the album, it gave me a "Water" type feel
Posted by las raises, Tue Nov-29-11 11:35 PM
Which I find amazing, great job fellas. I'm diggin it after the first listen!!! I like Dice on the chorus
2634519, RE: I just finished listening to the album, it gave me a "Water" type feel
Posted by MILF DOOM, Thu Dec-01-11 11:27 AM
maybe its the last 4 tracks that gives it the 'Water' feel?
2634682, I think you may be right
Posted by las raises, Thu Dec-01-11 05:26 PM
2633844, Listened to it front to back 4 times so far today. Lovin it!!!
Posted by DeadMike, Tue Nov-29-11 11:49 PM
2633851, To be honest, on first spin, parts I didn't really dig. But it grows on ya.
Posted by DeadMike, Wed Nov-30-11 12:02 AM
2633860, same here.
Posted by forgivenphoenix, Wed Nov-30-11 01:00 AM
i dug 'Make My' and 'Lighthouse' but on the second listen, i dug most of the beats.

i do have a question tho. How does the timeline of Redford's life flow over the sequence of the tracks?

is it: 1, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 14?

i'm not too sure about that tho.
2633862, 14 to 1.
Posted by FortifiedLive, Wed Nov-30-11 01:12 AM
he's dying in the first track.
2633880, thanks.
Posted by forgivenphoenix, Wed Nov-30-11 03:11 AM
i thought i heard a baby crying in the echo of the track, so i thought it was the birth.
2633895, I'm hoping the cliff notes for the life sequence is ...
Posted by QBoogie, Wed Nov-30-11 07:44 AM
... in the liner notes of the album. Crosses fingers.
2633900, i gave them on this very site.
Posted by 15, Wed Nov-30-11 08:24 AM
2633972, cliff notes from 15
Posted by EClecticTastes, Wed Nov-30-11 11:29 AM
133. "UNDUN starring 9 opinions"
In response to Reply # 118




process starts with the track

now sometimes a track is made like "a track" for which we The Roots will take and redo it (look at "Get Busy" started off as "a track" then we went and replayed it"---that's how outside producers get stuff to us, if its a track that seems like we can "Rootsify" then we go with it")

or the track can just start from us (4 of the tracks were once "sandwiches")


now the process here is out of my hands.


there rich is the judge of the emotional weight (this having already established the concept of going backwards

song one-dead
song two-dying but dont know im dead yet, oh snap i am dead!!! wahhhhaa!
song three-someone kills me
song four- "got a problem nigga?....what?!?! what??!?!?!?....oh...you better walk away....so anyway yall like i was saying we shou--------
song five-work done. let's celebrate a lil bit. but just for a lil bit
song six- its a dirty job but somebody has got to do it and a closed mouth dont get fed. even though im haunted by the actions that got me here
song seven- live like an animal. die like an animal. but life goes on.
song eight- am i my brothers keeper? nah dukes. this is a business. sorry. but you had it coming to you.
song nine- i hate being put in this situation, but now i gotta "handle something" and i gotta do what i gotta do. even if that mean an ICU...
song 10- im all business. and unlike these scumbags. im rising outta this mess somehow someway
song 11-14
a) nightfall. time to retire.
b) sleep
c) nightmares haunts
d) prepares for new day and whatever challenges that come forth/abrupt awakening.



this is a rough chart followed (actually we wanted a strict 10 so that way we wont dwell to long telling a narrative twice.

when you get Undun this could be a good cheat chart for you.

we wanted to Tarrintino it so that his death is first and his morning was last.

i was never a lyric guy, for if i was Riq and i woulda been fighting after Organix's "Im Out Deah"

rich went hardcore on mofos. and im shocked tariq welcomed the coaching. i was amazed he was so open to coaching.

i was like "rich if he "im from the city where"'s me one more time imma crash this car"

so being as though Rich is the ONE dude that you are glad said "nah that's wack" and you respect it you go back and redo it. (which leaves me headscratching about Blu's remarks)

he made sure that every line made sense and they stuck to the script.



2633998, 15 - Did you consider letting people figure it out for themselves
Posted by bentagain, Wed Nov-30-11 12:18 PM
I know in the age of technology it's almost impossible to even release an ablum with no leaks

But I was wondering if you ever considered not even explaining it to people, and just letting them figure it our for themselves

I mean, people on this site are lost, even with all the interviews and explanations

Kind of like if Com didn't tell people he was talking about Hip-Hop on I used to love her


2634007, I See What You Mean But
Posted by makaveli, Wed Nov-30-11 12:30 PM
and i'm not 15, but the storyline idea definitely got me more hyped for the album. i'm sure i'm not the only one.
2634783, Huh?
Posted by denny, Thu Dec-01-11 10:44 PM
the last line of 'used to love her' is

'kause what i'm talking bout is hip hop'.
2634828, boom n/m
Posted by johnbook, Fri Dec-02-11 01:45 AM

THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
2634832, no, it's me that misread bentagain.
Posted by denny, Fri Dec-02-11 02:51 AM
He said 'IF' kom sense had never stated he was talking about hip hop.

Sorrie bent.
2634878, It was the fist comparison that came to mind
Posted by bentagain, Fri Dec-02-11 08:50 AM
I feel like it would add to the replay value of I Use to Love Her if he hadn't ended with that line

You could play it for somebody, and they would think he was talking about a girl

Sheeeiiitt

It would probably take us more than a few listens to figure it out

But with that line, there is no discussion, it's real cut and dry

And that was my thinking toward Undun

Let it marinate for awhile, give people a chance to react with their own interpretations


2640913, RE: 15 - Did you consider letting people figure it out for themselves
Posted by Justin_Maldonado_7, Mon Dec-19-11 08:55 AM
More like E Badu did with Certainly...

she explained it on the live album, but w/o that, I NEVER would've figured that out
2634157, I feel like a fool ...
Posted by QBoogie, Wed Nov-30-11 04:08 PM
... because I remember reading those. Good looks though fam.
2633921, Initial impressions: Solid
Posted by good5, Wed Nov-30-11 09:18 AM
One thing I found listening to it yesterday is that it's not really the type of album that you can fully appreciate while distracted by other things. You need to immerse in that shit and pay close attention to the lyrics. A lot of the bridges and outros didn't make emotional sense without understanding the lyrics.

I love how focused it is. One of those albums where you can tell every sound was chosen to match the greater purpose of the work, but it still sounds incredibly fluid and unforced.

The verses are all amazing. I can't think of a single "wtf?" line. Black Thought's verses sound especially personal, some of his best work.

Hoping to buy this on vinyl soon. Anyone have word on that?




2633922, Felt effortless
Posted by bentagain, Wed Nov-30-11 09:25 AM
I only gave it a couple of spins last night...

I was really impressed with how effortless the album felt

All of the detail, orchestral, concept, etc...I expected the album to feel forced and confined

but it doesn't

it really breathes

Finality really ties the whole thing together

well done *stands and applauds*

Lighthouse was a standout for me

and BT chomped a hole it at least half of those beats

glad to see beast mode activated

What's Next?





2634199, agree with all of this
Posted by sfMatt, Wed Nov-30-11 05:11 PM
2636241, Also surprised that some of the songs work outside of the context
Posted by bentagain, Tue Dec-06-11 10:03 AM
of the album

I didn't expect to be able to put any of the songs on by themselves

but Lighthouse and Kool On work as singles


2633931, wow...
Posted by tex, Wed Nov-30-11 09:49 AM
this is amazing

***************************************
rosemary's babydaddy
***************************************
2633934, RE: The Roots - Undun reviews
Posted by stone_phalanges, Wed Nov-30-11 10:02 AM
Not a fan of the sequencing. Does anyone know why they chose to put practically all the instrumental tracks at the end? I mean I like it, its just that I may want to rearrange the tracks. what is the chronological order of the story?
2633943, think it was one track and they had to
Posted by Stadiq, Wed Nov-30-11 10:21 AM
break it up for legal reasons or something.
2633962, RE: The Roots - Undun reviews
Posted by stone_phalanges, Wed Nov-30-11 11:04 AM
Nevermind I was wrong. Tried to change the track order and it didn't work as well. Sorry, I rescind my complaint.
2633936, listen to the stream....
Posted by , Wed Nov-30-11 10:08 AM
And really enjoyed it.

Like others have mentioned, I look forward to paying close attention to the lyrics to try and follow the story line.

I really really loved the end movements of redford. and DD kilt that shit. amazing way to end the album.

funny, I just caught pink floyds the wall on the tv the other night...



...your Auntie Clarisse!

lurkin since 1999. werd.
2633942, Glide Magazine @@@@1/2
Posted by 15, Wed Nov-30-11 10:19 AM
http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/57886/the-roots.html
2633946, Still waiting for Tuesday but
Posted by Stadiq, Wed Nov-30-11 10:25 AM
ya'll are making it difficult.

Real difficult.

I still have managed to not listen to anything yet. Going in completely fresh.

I gotta stop coming into this thread. . .

2633994, I Tried To Hold Out But I Gave In
Posted by makaveli, Wed Nov-30-11 12:11 PM
it's great.
2634024, RE: The Roots - Undun reviews
Posted by Beyond da Norm, Wed Nov-30-11 12:55 PM
The low quality stream I heard sounds crazy
2634029, So far, so good
Posted by jmaestro, Wed Nov-30-11 01:07 PM
Question though: What happened to the version of "Lighthouse" with the heavy synths and alternate drums that was being played in the studio vid?
2634145, Love The Album, The Ambition, The Theme
Posted by EClecticTastes, Wed Nov-30-11 03:50 PM
But, I feel that the storyline started AFTER the turning point that I think is most compelling; how does a random kid decide to shift from the path of an ordinary life (whatever that may be for that kid) to the criminal path. The reverse narrative seems to begin with that random kid deciding that he's had enough.

Perhaps I'm imposing too much of my personal experience on the group's vision, but I grew up with kids from traditional backgrounds (stable home, working parents, etc.) who decided to take the criminal route and ended up dead or in jail. I never understood (I mean I did, but I didn't) what turned them to the allure of street life as opposed to the other path.
2635434, RE: Love The Album, The Ambition, The Theme
Posted by Birdzeye, Sun Dec-04-11 04:36 AM
Yes, i agree with your point. I enjoy the album and will buy but it not the big deconstruction of how a wayward soul got to where he is. I thought this album would go back to pivotal points such as early family life, education, specific life dissapointments etc and maybe some angles i havent considered. The verses are extremely well written and it sounds good like the roots always are, but the actual story seems limited.
2634243, incredible album. grown man hip hop. fav track is...
Posted by Kurtis Carve, Wed Nov-30-11 06:41 PM
The "if you can't swizzim" one.
2634269, ?uestlove on Soundcheck podcast
Posted by handle, Wed Nov-30-11 07:11 PM
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/

Talking about Undun.
2634271, love it, of course.
Posted by selppataei, Wed Nov-30-11 07:17 PM
this is a truly circular album. i almost feel required to put the album on repeat, but part of that is how i "read" tracks 11-14. yes, i did read the cliff notes before, but instead of a sleep sequence, i read it as a life flashing before one's eyes. something about the transition from "finality" to "dun" and the timing of the flatline when played over just works for me. so the story is told backwards from 1 to 10 and tarantino'd back to the ending with the suite; the suite also provides background for the entire narrative. i know that isn't what questo stated as far as their intentions, but i can't help but listen to the album that way, especially given the titles of the movements.

i'll write more when i get some time, but for now i'll say that thought's coda on "i remember" really, really stands out.
2634286, it's simply a different album
Posted by Messiah4976, Wed Nov-30-11 08:03 PM
they didn't re-visit any formulas......didn't try create a sound they've presented before



Great album.....
2634311, The Other Side.......
Posted by Messiah4976, Wed Nov-30-11 08:49 PM
....fuck....
2634518, Bilal Man
Posted by MILF DOOM, Thu Dec-01-11 11:26 AM
The Other Side
2635312, wow bilal wow
Posted by Crash Bandacoot, Sat Dec-03-11 04:03 PM
just when i thought he couldn't get any better. vocals are amazing.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
2636398, Bilal and them organs. favorite track
Posted by hardware, Tue Dec-06-11 03:42 PM
2634318, iPhone and iPad app out NOW
Posted by handle, Wed Nov-30-11 09:03 PM
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/undun/id481074827?mt=8

2634331, the only time I ever wished I had apple products ...
Posted by QBoogie, Wed Nov-30-11 09:41 PM
... just to view this app. Gonna have to borrow one of the homies.
2634407, Greg P.O.R.N.......is a problem!
Posted by Messiah4976, Thu Dec-01-11 12:51 AM
I hope this boor doesn't fade into the darkness though......his pen is retarded
2634410, It's really too bad OKP records didn't really take off...
Posted by phemom, Thu Dec-01-11 01:43 AM
Cause it would be a good place for a solo LP from him...he's too dope to be having a day job.

...and I haven't even heard the album yet, been thinking that since RD.
2634428, "Kool On" and "Stomp" are ridiculous.
Posted by Anfernee, Thu Dec-01-11 03:31 AM
Did Just Blaze produce "Stomp"? That shit is greatness.
2634503, Entertainment Weekly review (A-)
Posted by Track_10, Thu Dec-01-11 10:46 AM
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20549765,00.html

2634507, The Independent uk review (Positive)
Posted by Track_10, Thu Dec-01-11 10:52 AM
"The Roots' 13th album may be their best." - The Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-the-roots-undun-mercury-6270396.html
2634510, To 15 and the whole crew.....Thank You
Posted by tomjohn29, Thu Dec-01-11 10:59 AM
2634513, BBC review (Positive)
Posted by Track_10, Thu Dec-01-11 11:10 AM
"All told, undun stands firm as a moving eulogy, full of life in its own murky way and amazingly cohesive in its approach. While the album’s main character lived only 25 years, the music here has the vitality to live much longer." - BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/5n9p
2634562, I REALLY like Dice and PORN on this
Posted by woe.is.me., Thu Dec-01-11 01:05 PM
lyrically its some of their best work i've heard.
and someone get PORN a therapist.
2634563, lol
Posted by sfMatt, Thu Dec-01-11 01:11 PM

>and someone get PORN a therapist.
2634567, third verse!!!
Posted by sfMatt, Thu Dec-01-11 01:16 PM
several headphone listenings in I can't help but be let down when Make My, Stomp, Tip The Scale and Lighthouse end.
2634646, Pithcfork interview
Posted by handle, Thu Dec-01-11 03:43 PM
http://pitchfork.com/news/44776-uestlove-talks-michele-bachmann-fiasco-new-dangelo-album/
2634673, this is brilliant guys...
Posted by KD, Thu Dec-01-11 04:47 PM
keep evolving and creating music we've never before. kudos!
2634730, This shit resonates.
Posted by MarVeL, Thu Dec-01-11 07:51 PM
When i'm not listenin' to that stream I'm thinking about listenin' to that stream.
2634826, this album is beautiful man.
Posted by L.E.S., Fri Dec-02-11 01:35 AM
Not usually a word I use to describe hip-hop albums (although I noticed it used to describe HIGO - which makes sense if this is sort of HIGO's twin sibling as Quest implied they make sort of pairs of albums)

Anyway they've done it again & found a way to blend a classic kind of sound and make it fresh. It sounds very new. It might be their most "musical" album. I've been a Roots fan for so long that I always prepare myself to be like "ok this is going to be the album I don't love and I'm cool with that. They've earned my fandom regardless." And yet I genuinely do love every album. Its kind of unprecedented. I mean, there are Bob Dylan albums I find unlistenable (although there are like 12 of his albums that I absolutely love). But The Roots are so consistent and continue to push themselves artistically. Its special.

That being said, after a few listens Undun doesn't have the impact that Game Theory or Rising Down had. But I like it as an evil twin to HIGO and it makes me want to listen to that again. THere's definitely an emotional feel to this album.

If there's one criticism I have its the tempo of the rapping. Black Thought has been an absolute beast, maybe the best MC and most consistent over the last ten years or so.
He's good on this album as always BUT he's an up tempo MC at his best. This album has a lot of ballad type slowed down joints that don't always compliment Riq's gifts fully. But I do understand the concept of the album and that they are trying to set a tone or a voice for the character and I appreciate that.

AND the length. I don't usually nitpick about that and do find virtue in conciseness. But, I do think this album could have used one or two more tracks to really bring the story home stronger.

THE OTHER SIDE is definitely my favorite.
2635481, DICE & G PORN are dope on this.
Posted by L.E.S., Sun Dec-04-11 11:42 AM
They may as well be official Roots members at this point.
2634830, The Guardian (UK): 3 out of 5 stars (link)
Posted by johnbook, Fri Dec-02-11 01:59 AM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/01/the-roots-undun-review




THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
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2634904, I want to write for the Guardian and EW
Posted by handle, Fri Dec-02-11 10:49 AM
Two shorts paragraphs equals a review.

I'd rate everything between $ and $$$$$.
2634836, NPR First Listen (LINK) / nom nom nom can't wait bart scott
Posted by vik, Fri Dec-02-11 03:13 AM
already posted? DTS.

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/28/142873013/first-listen-the-roots-undun

November 29, 2011

"And what I did came back to me eventually," narrator Redford Stephens, transcendently portrayed by Black Thought, posthumously intones in "Sleep," the first track from The Roots' 13th album undun. Death pervades undun; it follows Stephens, a poor kid from Philadelphia and victim to the drug trade, from the moment he surrenders himself to the game all the way to his inevitable end. Along the way, no verse is wasted, no optimism is spared; each line is like a shovelful of dirt on Redford's coffin. At 39 minutes, undun feels like a lifetime, because it is one.

The album is gorgeously arranged by the incomparable ?uestlove, The Roots' expert bandleader and producer, whose recent projects include the "Philly Paris Lockdown," a reinterpretation of the works of the French impressionist composers Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. On undun, ?uestlove renders the lush modality of these composers in the vibrant hues of early-'70s soul music; the eerie, ghostly outro of "Make My" sublimates the drug dealer's hopeless, nihilistic glory into misty Moog and starry synths in the vein of Stevie Wonder's "Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You?)."

The record's most affecting element, however, is its lyricism, led with gimmick-less seriousness by Black Thought, a rapper whose storytelling is unencumbered by sophomoric jocularity or false cartoonishness. His desolation is unvarnished and striking in "I Remember," in which he darkly rhymes, "I drew a two of hearts from a deck of cards / A stock trick from my empty repertoire / Another hopeless story, never read at all / I'm better off looking for the end where the credits are." He's given fleeting respite from the stress of the drug trade in "Kool On," but is harshly pulled back to earth the next morning in "The OtherSide," where paranoia surrounds him again: "We obviously need to tone it down a bit / Running around town spending time like it's counterfeit."

The album's guest spots are similarly purposeful. Producer Just Blaze's recent conquests with Drake and Rick Ross (among many) have made him ubiquitous on pop radio, but in "Stomp" he transforms the four-on-the-floor, tambourine-rattling beat into a plodding chain gang. Longtime Roots collaborator P.O.R.N., whose "Every thought is dark as a glass of Guinness" (in "The OtherSide") sounds like a combination of Curren$y and Malice of Clipse. In "One Time," Dice Raw issues a heartbreakingly dark verse on the predestination of his cursed life, asking, "I wonder when you die, do you hear harps and bagpipes? / If you ball on the other side of the crack pipe? / N——s learn math just to understand the crack price / then dive in headfirst like a jackknife." These features peak in "Tip the Scale," the most lush and affecting rumination of crack sales since Kanye West and Jon Brion's "Crack Music."

The album ends with a short suite of pieces based on Sufjan Stevens' instrumental "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou)" from his album Michigan; it even features the composer on piano. The ghostly backup vocals and muted horns perfectly match undun's spectral artfulness. Brilliantly, instead of transforming "Redford" into a functional sample, it's presented in state. ?uestlove treats "Redford" almost like a piece of movie music, accompanying the action rather than recapitulating it. The result is a cinematic moment waiting to be processed, fictionalized into hip-hop. It's as if the listener zoomed in beyond the safe narrative distance of the song and actually ended up in the movie. This movement of the suite is like a rap track under a microscope, the sample blown up so large that the beats that keep hip-hop as the frame of reference are a horizon enshrouded in fog. By the third act, Stephens has been replaced by DD Jackson in a careening duet with ?uestlove, whose long-cultivated drumming heft and precision play like fists through a plaster wall or bullet holes through a car door. Finally, credits roll over a sublime string quartet, mercifully for Black Thought's black thoughts — at least for a moment, before ?uestlove's meticulously arranged strings are silenced by the chilling, deathly growl of a struck piano.

Black Thought has never been frivolous, but there's extra seriousness to his performance on this record that can only be explained by someone who truly knows him. "Redford is definitely compiled five or six people that we've known from Philadelphia," ?uestlove told Spin magazine recently. "Tariq 's entire family, his cousin and brothers, have literally all been this guy. Tariq is the only one that has escaped the fate that most of his family have encountered. The narrative definitely hits home with him more than any other member of the band."
2635334, why is Just Blaze getting credit for Stomp?
Posted by Nodima, Sat Dec-03-11 06:03 PM
isn't that Sean C & LV? Levar Coppin (LV) in the liners


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2634942, Chicago Tribune review (4 of 4 stars)
Posted by Track_10, Fri Dec-02-11 11:57 AM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/turnitup/chi-roots-album-review-undun-reviewed-20111202,0,1361973.column
2634973, hey, i'm credited on "make my!"
Posted by justin_scott, Fri Dec-02-11 01:12 PM
lol j/k

big krit's real name is justin scott.
2634976, excellent
Posted by justin_scott, Fri Dec-02-11 01:19 PM
i've been listening to the album in the car for the past few days. yet another great album. i dont really have any complaints. less black thought, but greg porn excels so much (he's been dope on every release) i don't even notice it. dice raw confuses me. i've only heard one solo song that was any good to me (i do what i like), but put him on a roots album, and he shines. i love his hooks, and his verses.
2635104, NSU Review
Posted by pimpinstein, Fri Dec-02-11 06:05 PM
I reviewed #undun for the online publication I run, The New Student Union.

http://www.newstudentunion.com/2011/12/02/album-review-the-roots-%E2%80%94-undun/
2635138, The Globe and Mail review (Canada) - 3.5 of 4 stars
Posted by Track_10, Fri Dec-02-11 08:46 PM
"Undun is a remarkable achievement, sparse and tough and beautifully realized. The Roots are carving a new road for hip hop – the question is whether anyone else cares to desert the genre’s gaudy carnival and join them." - The Globe and Mail

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/music/disc-of-the-week-a-song-of-experience/article2258232/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Home&utm_content=2258232
2635220, Thee Business
Posted by Roadblock, Sat Dec-03-11 02:02 AM
joint will get me through winter
2635290, hows this compare to prince paul Prince Among thieves or sticky's
Posted by Riot, Sat Dec-03-11 01:19 PM
black trash/kirk jones

in terms of concept and storyline


the sticky fingaz jawn was slept on pretty hard i think
heads (the 'sohh' stereotype side of the fence) wasnt checkin for sticky by then
and it was too cerebral for the hard rock onyx fan



wondering if either album came up
if ever briefly
in the undun process
2635310, Review: my original uncut review of undun
Posted by johnbook, Sat Dec-03-11 03:53 PM
When I did my review, it was agreed that I should edit it. I did so, and it was cut down by two-thirds. I know a few of you like the way I get long-winded with certain topics, and while I didn't think of it that way when I did the review, my original review of undun came off like one of my old Lesson posts. In other words, if you don't like me going "blah blah blah Prince, blah blah blah Pink Floyd", you can read the final version of my review.

Otherwise, this is my original review, written on the week I received the advance for the album. This version is 4500 words, or the equivalent of the average short story. While it's a "private link", that merely means you will not see it if you go to ThisIsBooksMusic.com, but the review should be available for all to see.
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/2011/12/03/review-the-roots-undun-original-version/

If you haven't read the final version of my review, go here:
http://kevinnottingham.com/2011/11/15/the-roots-undun/


If anything, it's the struggle all creative people (artists, journalists, painters, etc.) have to deal with, and using the power of editing. Sometimes, an edit makes something good or okay a lot better, but this will give all of you a chance to look into what I initially thought of the music.







THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


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2635347, THS ALBUM IS FUCKING AMAZING
Posted by Kosa12, Sat Dec-03-11 06:55 PM
shit
2635382, I really dig "I Remember" & "Tip The Scale".
Posted by hateur, Sat Dec-03-11 09:32 PM
I could hear Beyonce on "I Remember".

If it were longer it could be a big hit on radio.
2635389, woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!
Posted by QB Eagles, Sat Dec-03-11 09:56 PM
Black took the mask off
2635390, Hold up though, why this Illmatic time length?
Posted by QB Eagles, Sat Dec-03-11 10:10 PM
2636040, short album, easier to digest as a fan
Posted by justin_scott, Mon Dec-05-11 07:14 PM
music albums shouldn't be 18-23 tracks anyway. too much.
2636240, Songs in the key of life disagrees with you
Posted by bentagain, Tue Dec-06-11 10:00 AM
2639145, what an inane response.
Posted by ninjitsu, Wed Dec-14-11 02:05 AM
2635492, Redford sounds like some Radiohead
Posted by QB Eagles, Sun Dec-04-11 12:30 PM
i would've liked Black Thought to rap over it
2635507, it's a portion of sufjan steven's song of the same name
Posted by Nodima, Sun Dec-04-11 01:14 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2oAp4mrM-Y


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2635532, I'm thinking I might be liking this album more backwards
Posted by Nodima, Sun Dec-04-11 02:53 PM
IDK though


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2635586, thoughts....
Posted by denny, Sun Dec-04-11 04:56 PM
me k-board is fightin me so ex`use the spellings.

Definitelie a reallie interesting listen. Haven't spent mu`h time kontemplating the storieline so I'm mostlie just addressing the musik here.

Like alwa`s....everie song is like a 'how's quest gonna make his drums sound like next". It's almost like he'll pi`k a song from somewhere and trie to emulate that kit sound. There is NO drummer in anie genre that has su`h a varietie of tones and engineering tekniques on the drums from song to song as quest. Even when i haven't reallie dug a roots release...this aspekt alone makes them worth a listen.

Fave song is One Time. Had me fist-pumping over here. Piano khords hooked me in right from the start. Interested to know if the piano was live....kinda sounds `hopped up and edited. And the khorus just works for me. Then u add in the or`hestration at the end...Put it on the best of list imo.

I remember is also great. Great khord progression that is 8 bars long....kinda rare for a roots song. Again...loving the orkhestration that appears later on in the song. Also...the k-board line sounds reallie direkt. The whole album has a reallie interesting balan`e between direkt drie sounds and washed out verbed ones. Moreso than on past albums. Great mixing and engineering.

Sleep is great. Kinda a dub or elektronik stile. Real interesting soniks and atmosphere. And love the beautifullie kompressed drums on 'The other side'. Lighthouse gotta great swing on the hihats. And one thing that the Roots might have been guiltie of sometimes....no song lasts too long and some of them leave u wanting more.

Bla`k thought got some rasp in his voi`e on this album. Almost like a blues thing and i love it. On 'Stomp' he even got a little overdrive fuzz on his mike. Tune reminded me of the 'takeover' Doors sample.

One last observation...the band seems a little looser on this album. I noti`ed a kouple little things here and there that might have been fixed via pun`h-ins in times past. A bit more looser in terms of little fills and variations in the instruments. U kould kall this less dis`iplined...or less anal.

Look forward to subsequent listens.
2635607, So no skits huh??
Posted by joseph, Sun Dec-04-11 06:01 PM
jokes people
2635621, PopMatters 8/10 (personal swipe, wish we had 8.5s)
Posted by Nodima, Sun Dec-04-11 07:11 PM
I left a note for the editors that if they reached a behind the scenes consensus I'm more than fine with an 8 so we'll see what they do. I've given it dozen listens but I had to hit deadline so, if this disappoints some people I get it. This won't get pub'd til later this week but what the hell. also hasn't been scanned for editing since that ain't my side of the bargain. hopefully mine is one of the lowest scores this album receives if it stays an 8.


---------------------

undun is a deceptively tough nut to crack. On its surface, undun feels like another step in the mature, indie-oriented direction the Legendary Roots Crew set their sights on with last year's How I Got Over. The production is full of pianos, somewhat abstract Radiohead-like interludes and soul hooks from longtime associates Dice Raw and Bilal. Aside from a few tracks it's a notably subdued album, particularly during its opening and closing sections. But when you start to approach on its intended level, as a story album about a deceased 25-year old Philadelphia man named Redford Stephens (a name that alludes to the band's affection for Sufjan Steven's Michigan album), things start to get a little muddled. For starters, liner notes were eschewed in favor of interviews and an iPad app. The app - which I admit not being privy to due to a lack of the proper technology (it also works on iPhones and iPod Touches, neither of which were in my possession over the weekend) - contains a series of photos, music videos and interviews that act as a biography of sorts for Redford. That content acts as a bridge for the listener between the ideas the band threw around in the studio and what led up to their decision to tell this story, sort of like featurettes that might accompany a DVD to better explain side plots and background narrative. Without this information, undun becomes a uniquely challenging release thanks to the band's decision to tell Redford's story in reverse, from death to the beginning of his ending.

Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves started with the death of it's main character Tariq, but followed with a chronological story of how he arrived there. The Roots have decided to Memento the experience, doing everything backward. They've also stipulated that every voice on the record is inside Redford's head, delivering different interpretations of the events and ideas leading to his death much as a person's brain plays against itself. But what's really interesting, to me, is what happens when you play the album itself backwards, essentially forcing the story to play chronologically. In both formats, the album begins with the protagonist asleep, on one end a physical death ("Redford Suite") and on the other metaphorical ("Dun"). In either format, "Lighthouse" and "The OtherSide" act as guiding lights for the character; in reverse, "Lighthouse" finds Redford adrift in the ocean of urbanity, anticipating his demise with "The OtherSide" revealing his welcoming attitude towards death (a theme throughout the record). If heard according to the tracklist, the inversion of these concepts makes equal sense, with Redford wondering what the worth of life is before finding himself facing an appraisal soon after. Many of the songs work this way, playing duel roles depending on what order you choose to experience them, and it makes for a really interesting album. The best expression of this duality is in the "Redford Suite", which can be heard as either: A) Redford's soul leaving his body and ascending / descending (the 3rd and 4th movements seemingly leave this up to the listener to decide) to its destined spiritual resting place or B) the tumultuous nature of Redford's dreams, from which he awakens to the daily stress of having two brothers, one dead and one incarcerated who anticipates Redford's joining him soon.

Conceptually, this album is full of exciting ideas musically and lyrically even if its core isn't far removed from Masta Ace's seminal A Long Hot Summer, if at all. But in can also be, as I mentioned before, a tough nut to crack. Maybe tougher than it deserves to be. Because the songs are often more thematic than structural, it's hard to actually coalesce with the Roots' train of thought and see undun as any kind of storyline. The skeleton is there but over more than a dozen listens I have to admit I feel like I get the same experience either way I listen to the album. If it weren't for ?uestlove's outline on the okayplayer forum or the press coverage emphasizing its novella nature, it would be easy to hear undun as simply another Roots album. Progressive in sound as all Roots albums are, but just another album nonetheless. And in that sense undun is in some ways a step back from How I Got Over, as Dice Raw is given even more hook duty here and either provides just enough chutzpah to see the song through ("Lighthouse", "Tip the Scale") or nearly butchers it ("One Time"). The hooks in general are a bit of a struggle to get through, as "I Remember" isn't much better with its anonymous female vocal echoing dully many times throughout the brief three-minute track where a Gary Porn verse or more of ?uest and Khari Mateen's quite beautiful instrumental could have been. Casting every artist on the album as Redford Stephens also lends to its immediate inaccessibility as a concept, being that their voices sound so different and the subject matter so interchangeable. Especially with the brief, Illmatic-matching runtime, undun sprints through its motions so quickly that it could easily be interpreted as an EP addendum to How I Got Over by those unwilling to put in the time necessary to connect all of Redford's various dots through the lyrics and iPad app.

To undun's sizable credit, however, these gripes have a comforting ability to sink into the greater whole of the album. My personal favorite way to experience this album is as a playlist, with the album first played in reverse and then immediately ran back as the album proper. Redford is dreaming, awakens, makes his terrible life decision, dies and then has his final moments flash before his eyes, played back in reverse order ala Nas' "Rewind". I'm not sure if the Roots intended the album to be playable in this fashion but I guarantee that it most certainly is, and I'm equally certain that this is a first in hip-hop if not album making in general. Despite its various faults undun is righteously solid, no doubt indebted to the atmospheric work of Sufjan Stevens and previous collaborators like Dirty Projectors and Jim James while maintaining that undeniable Roots edge that can only come from the drumkit of Ahmir Thompson, the vocal chords of Tariq Trotter and the more than capable limbs of their six cohorts. Particularly striking for ?uest is his free jazz duet with D.D. Jackson on piano, "Will to Power", a move that I'm not sure ?uest would have felt free to explore just a few years ago. The Roots certainly aren't the band that made Illadelph Halflife, Things Fall Apart or even Game Theory anymore, but it's immeasurably refreshing to know that they don't have to be. Their sampling of Radiohead on Game Theory has led to them being championed as a sort of hip-hop parallel to the group in the years since, but it's undun that truly signals the Roots are every bit as capable of maturing with grace, pride and praise-worthy work as those consistently unpredictable rockers from Oxfordshire.



~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2635645, Philadelphia Examiner: * * * 1/2
Posted by johnbook, Sun Dec-04-11 09:21 PM
http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20111204_Roots_reach_a_creative_height_in__undun_.html?cmpid=132337163




THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
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http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


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2635751, Soul Culture (UK): 4 1/2 out of 5
Posted by johnbook, Mon Dec-05-11 09:28 AM
http://www.soulculture.co.uk/reviews/the-roots-undun-album-review/





THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


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2635783, HipHopDX: 5 out of 5
Posted by johnbook, Mon Dec-05-11 11:12 AM
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1805/title.the-roots--undun


THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


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2635810, dice's hooks are the low for me
Posted by xangeluvr, Mon Dec-05-11 12:16 PM
same as HIGO. doesn't ruin the songs, but they aren't good to me either.

other than that, the album is great and really shows the roots' musical growth.
2635885, which ones?
Posted by justin_scott, Mon Dec-05-11 02:00 PM
cause lighthouse (other than maybe the intro of swizim, drizown), and tip the scale are great choruses.
2635895, the hook on One Time nearly ruins the song for me
Posted by Nodima, Mon Dec-05-11 02:19 PM
otherwise, he's ok. I don't like the girl on I Remember, either.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2636006, one time is okay, but it does sound off
Posted by justin_scott, Mon Dec-05-11 05:38 PM
i remember is simple, but it works for me.
2637177, I've had that song on repeat today
Posted by yoplay, Thu Dec-08-11 04:24 AM
Specifically cause I love that hook! To each their own..
2637674, sound like he recorded that in the shower, gargling water.
Posted by FortifiedLive, Fri Dec-09-11 09:53 AM
.
2635945, still not a fan of "make my"
Posted by Ashy Achilles, Mon Dec-05-11 03:55 PM
if youre going to use a guest vocalist, get someone that can actually sing
maybe they like the fact that he sounds like hes struggling
2636007, see, i love make my
Posted by justin_scott, Mon Dec-05-11 05:39 PM
i see a lot of people mention it, but i think it's lyrically a great chorus. i guess it is a little monotone. to each their own
2636137, basically all of them
Posted by xangeluvr, Mon Dec-05-11 11:50 PM
>cause lighthouse (other than maybe the intro of swizim,
>drizown), and tip the scale are great choruses.

i can't seem to decide if its 1) the choruses just aren't that good or 2) if its because dice is a terrible singer. depending on the song i think its more one that the other.

lighthouse is a good example. i actually don't mind what's being said during the hook, but dice does not have the right singing voice to deliver it in my opinion. listen to the way his voice is always on the verge of breaking during the chorus, or how it does when he sings the "drown." the intro i kinda suspect too as you mention.

tip the scales? we'll have to disagree on that one because since the first listen i have not liked that hook, again mostly because of dice's singing voice.

one time? damn that song could have been so much better if they would have gotten someone to actually sing that chorus. the way dice's voice breaks on certain words just takes away from an otherwise good chorus. truthfully i think this chorus is one of the best, or the best, SOUNDING choruses to me. the melody fits the song. too bad its dice singing it.

again, in the end i still like the songs, but i hope in the future they can go outside of dice and get some real singers.
2636951, shit he killed these hooks come a long way form Rising Down
Posted by Menphyel7, Wed Dec-07-11 04:50 PM
now them hooks was awful....THE SHOW IT MUST GO ON THE SHOW IT MUST GON..til Tip the scale.

that shit is WAYYY better he really came into his own on this album.

the HIGO hooks was good too but he got better with this one.
2637411, hooks are better, he needs to not sing them
Posted by xangeluvr, Thu Dec-08-11 04:04 PM
They need to have gotten actual singers for the hooks, dice sounds awful. The actual words of the hooks are fine, I don't have a problem with the writing.
2636135, Front-Free.com: positive review
Posted by johnbook, Mon Dec-05-11 11:23 PM
http://front-free.com/album-review-undun-x-the-roots/



THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
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2636164, The Other Side is a classic Roots track
Posted by L.E.S., Tue Dec-06-11 01:12 AM
probably my fav & the chorus really makes it.

for some reason it reminds me of "Long Time." Or its like Undun's version of it.

"Long Time" was one of those joints that stood out as a classic Roots joint from the get go.
2636165, Pitchfork Media: 7.3/10
Posted by Nodima, Tue Dec-06-11 01:13 AM
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16102-the-roots-undun/

The catch is that the inevitable familiarity of this storyline, even in the service of a deep emotional study, is almost an end in itself-- a cycle seen far too often, played out in terms anyone who's ever been or known someone with their back against the wall can understand. And if Undun succeeds at putting one man's criminal-world struggle with free will and fate in empathetic terms, it does so at the expense of any unique details or unusual traits that would set him apart-- Redford is humanized, but he's not entirely individualized. If you've bought an Apple device in the last couple of years, you can download a free app that includes some world-building video clips and photos that give him more of a full-life context. If you're still relying on a Blackberry and a clickwheel iPod, you're left with the voices of Black Thought, Dice Raw, and the now-more-googleable Greg Porn to fill in most of the blanks. They're admirable technicians and can be charismatic on their own terms, but voicing raw emotion isn't a major strength for any of them.

~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2636258, Out of curiosity
Posted by YourUserName, Tue Dec-06-11 11:01 AM
Has Pitchfork ever rated any of their higher than a 7 or 7.5? Not feigning outrage or anything, just wondering.
2636266, RE: Out of curiosity
Posted by noit, Tue Dec-06-11 11:10 AM
HIGO 8.1
TFA 9.4
2636273, those albums are suited for the pitch4ork crowd too
Posted by Nick Has a Problem...Seriously, Tue Dec-06-11 11:26 AM
so there's no surprise there.

my bad. i'm thinking about Phrenology which got an 8.1. didn't know they reviewed TFA.
2636170, Washington Post: The Roots’ ‘undun’ is filled with evocative hip-hop
Posted by handle, Tue Dec-06-11 01:30 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-roots-undun-is-filled-with-evocative-hip-hop/2011/12/05/gIQAjsNlXO_story.html

The Roots’ ‘undun’ is filled with evocative hip-hop

By Chris Richards, Monday, December 5, 4:26 PM

There are some in­cred­ibly evocative songs on the Roots’ new album “undun.” The electronic pulse of “Sleep” sounds like molten gold dripping from a leaky spigot. The bass at the finale of “Make My” plows tunnels through the cumulus Alps of heaven.

So it’s too bad the one song that the Roots will most likely be remembered for in 2011 is a 16-second swatch of Fishbone’s “Lyin’ A-- B----.”

As the house band on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” the Philadelphia-born hip-hop collective recently spat up the rowdy ska tune as Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann traipsed out onstage for an interview. (Fishbone’s 1985 debut EP clearly wasn’t on Bachmann’s iPod — she was oblivious to the prank.)

The band considered it a joke. Certain corners of the media considered it an outrage. NBC apologized to Bachmann and “severely reprimanded” the Roots. Last week, with the smoke just starting to clear, bandleader Questlove said the stunt was “absolutely not” worth it.

But regardless of whether the decision was in poor taste, it underscored a bigger point about the Roots: The band members might spend their work week taking Jimmy in and out of commercial, but they’ve never stopped thinking of themselves as artists.

It’s an idea addressed more explicitly with “undun,” the group’s most adventurous outing since 1999’s “Things Fall Apart.” But where that millennial triumph folded hip-hop into new shapes like so much origami paper, “un­dun” patiently allows itself to spread in every direction, the way water spills across a tabletop.

That’s just the music, though. Lyrically, this is a concept album with a linear narrative that frontman Black Thought follows with admirable discipline. (And it’s nowhere near as tiresome as that might sound.) The story begins with the death of the semi-fictional drug dealer named Redford Stephens, imitating the popular last-scene-first device that Hollywood is so fond of.

After an opening drone that suggests a flat-lining EKG monitor, Black Thought raps from the perspective of a spirit freshly escaped from the body: “From a man to a memory. . . . I wonder if my fam will remember me.”

Then, back to the beginning, where Stephens’s life slowly takes shape and quickly splinters. Different voices step in to inhabit his first-person, including ascendant Mississippi rapper Big K.R.I.T. and longtime Roots collaborator Dice Raw. All stay true to the character without derailing into hokey, hip-hopera terrain.

Meantime, the band handles each of these diaphanous backing tracks with a pleasing and elegant touch. The album concludes with an orchestral suite that’s every bit as lovely as the beat-driven stuff on the album’s front end. When a band spends nearly three years rehearsing in a dressing room at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York, this is apparently what you get.

Two Decembers ago, Questlove said he was paranoid about the Roots being known merely as “Jimmy Fallon’s band.” Hopefully, he’s gotten over that. The Roots have inarguably made television a better place for music, while life on television has inarguably made the Roots a better band.

Let’s hope they never quit their day job. Or get fired.

Recommended tracks

“Make My,” “One Time,” “Sleep”

© The Washington Post Company
2636259, 1st (Black) Thoughts
Posted by imcvspl, Tue Dec-06-11 11:03 AM
* Still not a fan of the singing hooks, maybe mostly because I'm not a fan of the singers. Which isn't to say they aren't serviceable but The Roots have worked with singers. I imagine Bilal in more spots, Jill Scott on that one joint. The voices themselves would turn the whole thing around.

* Thought is exponentially better on the tracks featuring Greg Porn. And he still gets got on the one he drops that clunker about being the toast of the town like Thomas. But Stomp. Best verses all around.

* The instrumental bits stand out like a sore thumb. Nothing about them scream The Roots to me. They fit in with the whole cinematic feel, but they almost overstate it unnecessarily so.

* LMAO at them going 'out'. I mean I've seen something in that vein live but within a 'suite'. Kudos for that.

* Speaking of sound and design, the snare on Lighthouse. At first I was mad that it wasn't cracking (yo shout out for all the cracking drums on here though), but then I realized with the spaced out verb it created the sound of the ocean. Nice touch.
________
Big PEMFin H & z's
█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
http://concretesoundsystem.com
Mo'Nium - http://monium.tumblr.com/

"When the music stops he falls back into this abyss."
2636270, re: Dice's choruses
Posted by woe.is.me., Tue Dec-06-11 11:19 AM
i like them all as written, but i agree that his voice isn't strong enough or doesn't have quite the right tone for a lot of them. it's not wack, but none of them are great.

imo its a bit of a wasted opportunity.
no disrespect to dice though, his verses really kill it. I think he's stepped up significantly in the rhyme department. although BT has the more introspective verses and hold the standard, i actually find myself *enjoying* dice more. His delivery is less stoic than BT's on this record.

shoutout to porn too.
all around, the mcs really bodied this one.
2636476, yeah I recently posted about this above.
Posted by xangeluvr, Tue Dec-06-11 05:55 PM
After more listens I too have decided that its dice's voice, not the choruses themselves. Missed opportunity indeed.
2636315, Los Angeles Times Undun Review 3.5 stars (out of 4)
Posted by Mudbone, Tue Dec-06-11 12:26 PM
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2011/12/album-review-the-roots-undun.html

Pop & Hiss
The L.A. Times music blog

Album review: The Roots' 'undun'
December 5, 2011 | 5:31 pm


Album review: The Roots' 'undun'

The Roots’ latest studio album is an artful melding of experimental jazz, ’70s R&B, guitar rock flourishes, wall-shattering beats and rhymes that take a scalpel to the existential angst of the hip-hop generation. It’s both bleak and unexpectedly beautiful.

It’s a tale told in reverse, narrated postmortem by its 25-year-old protagonist, Redford Stephens. The CD starts with his death (“There I go, from a man to a memory / Damn, I wonder if my fam will remember me…”) and moves backward through his ill-fated young life. One of “undun’s” greatest strengths is its use of guest artists; the varied styles of rappers and singers including Phonte, Dice Raw, Bilal Oliver, Truck North and Big K.R.I.T. represent the tangled layers of Stephens’ thoughts — the criminal minded, the philosophical and the places where those two personalities collide.

The multiple voices also function as something of a Greek chorus as Stephens wrestles with questions of fate, free will and destiny in the ’hood where he both lives and hustles. The result is a psychological depth and complexity rarely afforded black folks in modern pop culture, including (or especially) the borough of contemporary hip-hop.

The brilliance of this CD trumps the controversy around the band’s musical dis of Rep. Michele Bachmann during her recent appearance on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” Note to the Roots’ Questlove: don’t telegraph all your moves on Twitter and let the music do the talking. ”Undun” says it all.

Roots
“undun”
Island Def Jam
Three and a half stars (Out of four)
2636326, Rolling Stone 3.5
Posted by handle, Tue Dec-06-11 01:25 PM
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/undun-20111206
2636470, when is the last time RS rated a hip hop album above 3.5?
Posted by temps2020, Tue Dec-06-11 05:39 PM
Rotation:
Phonte - Charity Starts at Home
DJ Flash - Best of Phonte
Blu - NoYork!
Wilco - The Whole Love
Kendrick Lamar - Section 80
DJ Breakem Off & Big K.R.I.T.-Last King 2
Trombone Shorty - For True
2636527, really?
Posted by Selah, Tue Dec-06-11 07:38 PM
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/my-beautiful-dark-twisted-fantasy-20101109
2636341, AllHipHop.com: 8.5 out of 10
Posted by johnbook, Tue Dec-06-11 02:01 PM
http://allhiphop.com/2011/12/06/album-review-the-roots-undun/



THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


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2636345, Spin 7/10 (link)
Posted by Nick Has a Problem...Seriously, Tue Dec-06-11 02:04 PM
They kinda go in on BT http://www.spin.com/reviews/roots-undun-def-jam
2636403, i think the notion that Redford lacks individuality is valid
Posted by hardware, Tue Dec-06-11 03:48 PM
only real chink in the concept. the story isnt really anything we haven't heard but the way is handled is fantastic. but the way the character is handled does feel kind of hands off. its like a line from a song they decided to make an album out of.

but that said, on some level i kinda feel like thats missing the point.
2636400, Heavy Album....
Posted by murph71, Tue Dec-06-11 03:46 PM



Def gotta listen to it again....Porn and Dice Raw really shine...

Thought is Thought....Sounds like he's in character on every song...I likes...


Go to song..."Lighthouse"....

Good job fellas....
2636419, Paste magazine = 8.4
Posted by handle, Tue Dec-06-11 04:02 PM
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/12/the-roots-undun.html
2636580, So is that Mercedes on "I Remember" ?
Posted by sfMatt, Tue Dec-06-11 09:32 PM
2636972, Word! She kinda reminded me of Solange tho.
Posted by phemom, Wed Dec-07-11 05:40 PM
That's not a bad thing.
2636581, The "Make My" breakdown reminds me a lot
Posted by sfMatt, Tue Dec-06-11 09:42 PM
of what Nicolay did on FE's "The Answer" for some reason
2636633, First spin...Stomp!
Posted by Stadiq, Tue Dec-06-11 11:31 PM
Exceptional album, I imagine its a slow burner too.

I like this much more than I liked HIGO initially.


On the first Spin, I haven't been able to dissect the concept.


Dice is dope on this, don't get the complaints.

Greg Pron is NICE


STILL wish there was more Black Thought and


I get the tight concept thing...but some of these joints DESERVED to be longer in one way or another.

2636731, Iheartdilla review
Posted by desmondo66, Wed Dec-07-11 06:06 AM
http://iheartdilla.com/ihd/2011/12/review-undun-by-the-roots.html

Roots are undoubtedly one of the best live acts in the world but their recorded output has often failed to live up to their majestic performance standards.

That is until now.

undun, a concept album based around the life and death of Redford Stephens, a fictional composite figure fatally involved in Philadelphia’s crack trade, is certainly the band’s most consistent long player since Things Fall Apart and is probably their best ever.

The benefits of the band’s tenure as Jimmy Fallon’s house band began to appear on last years How I Got Over when the they let the high quality of their playing speak for itself.

That approach is all over undun with live drums, guitar, keyboards and strings dominating the soundscape.

From the opening ‘dun’, a short instrumental depicting the moment of Rerdford’s death, to the closing four song suite, this album has many moments of lyrical and musical greatness and innovation.

Exquisite details can be found in every track. The squeaking of the piano on the Redford, the multiple vocals on Sleep, the funky as hell drums on The Otherside and the Spectorish piano on One Time all denote a production team at the top of its game.

Some will say the number of guests - Dice Raw, K.R.I.T., Phonte and Greg Porn among others – hinders the skills of resident MC Black Thought.

In the past this may have had some substance but this time around, the band’s co-founder cements his reputation as one of the best rappers around.

His flow and lyrics are the high points of this album. It’s his verses that perfectly fit the atmosphere conveyed by the musicians and the overall feel of the album.

That said The Roots certainly pick and use their guests perfectly. Bilal contributes a soaring hook on The Otherside, the Jazzyfatnastees contribute beautifully to a couple of tracks and mad pianist DD Johnson lets it rip in a crazy duet with ?uestlove on Will to Power from the closing suite.

This album, though different in sound, feel and tone to both Watch the Throne and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, extends the artistic contribution hip-hop is making. on its own, to innovation in popular music.

It is in short a work of bravery, sophistication, performance and production of the highest quality.

It deserves THE Grammy in 2013.

iHD rating 5/5

2636771, Holy shit. This album is a masterpiece. Wow.
Posted by Orbit_Established, Wed Dec-07-11 09:03 AM

Artsies -- just stop



----------------------------

Young Broadway Star Urgently Needs a Bone Marrow Donor. Is it you? http://MatchShannon.com/







O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "
2637075, define masterpiece
Posted by Mr.Ouija, Wed Dec-07-11 08:29 PM
>
>Artsies -- just stop
>
>
>
>----------------------------
>
>Young Broadway Star Urgently Needs a Bone Marrow Donor. Is it
>you? http://MatchShannon.com/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"
>
>
>
>
>"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."
>
>(C)Keith Murray, "
2636791, The A.V. Club review (A)
Posted by Track_10, Wed Dec-07-11 09:46 AM
With the tight, concise, ferociously focused Undun, however, the immensity of the project's ambition is matched by its seamless, masterful execution.


http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-roots-undun,66094/
2636793, All Music review - (4.5 of 5 stars)
Posted by Track_10, Wed Dec-07-11 09:53 AM
"The existential rhymes, seemingly created with a shared vision, avoid outlining specific events and focus on ruminations that are grave and penetrating, as if each vocalist saw elements of himself and those he has known in Redford. What’s more, Undun probably shatters the record for fewest proper nouns on a rap album, with the likes of Hammurabi, Santa Muerte, and Walter Cronkite mentioned rather than the names of those who are physically involved in Stephens’ life." - AllMusicGuide


http://www.allmusic.com/album/undun-r2322105/review

2637121, this is a great fucking album
Posted by Anonymous, Wed Dec-07-11 10:44 PM
I love the concept of the entire thing and the way it was pulled off.

I love (and I'm not sure if it was on purpose but I'm assuming it was) how it goes backwards and then the suite goes forward so that when it's on repeat it play perfectly right back into the beginning again.

it really reminds me of the Xzibit joint Recycled Assassins. it gives it that feeling of this lifestyle being an ongoing tragedy.

was that the idea ?uest?

I would've loved to explore what the guests could've done if placed in the record as people in Redford's life as opposed to playing him from different angles.

and I only say that because upon first listen, I didn't feel like each MC really varied that much per topic to show different sides of the character as much as each track did.

but I'm going to give it more time to analyze that aspect.

But this is definitely better than the last two albums.

need to sit with it more to see how it holds up next to Game Theory.

it is without a doubt in that Illadelph/TFA/Game Theory class as their best.

I had a good feeling about this album since hearing about the concept.

and like I made an appreciation post in the past, The Roots really do put their all into every album and they have been doing that longer than any other hip-hop act and that's something special.

regardless of my complaints about the guests and the Dice hooks, they release quality fucking music. period.

I have a feeling this album will be in their top 3.
2637122, one more side note
Posted by Anonymous, Wed Dec-07-11 10:47 PM
how much is Bilal charging for these hooks?

because it would've been WELL worth the price for him to do ALL of them.

that dude is beyond a dope singer and is perfect for the concept and mood of this album.

i'm trying not to complain about Dice but I just don't get the logic of using a sub-par singer just because he writes the material.

Bilal would've pushed this album completely over the fucking top in my opinion.
2637147, same thought I've been having all day
Posted by xangeluvr, Thu Dec-08-11 12:34 AM
What doesn't make sense to me is how in interviews they keep talking about how heavily scrutinized this album was. All the verses had to be revised multiple times, even cutting Blu in the process, and the musical tracks were all changed too. So with that being true, its really hard for me to get past the fact that they didn't once say "hey I wonder what it would be like if someone else sang this hook."

The more I listen the less I'm liking Dice on the hooks. I like Dice when he's rapping, he did his thing on the album, but the singing takes me out of the zone when listening. I was hoping more listens would make me like them more, but no. Especially now after seeing bilal with the band on Fallon. No joke, the intro "dri-zown" thing along with the chorus damn near ruins Lighthouse for me.

2637163, hard to argue with that...
Posted by sfMatt, Thu Dec-08-11 02:13 AM
I would also suggest Mercedes is way more useful than nondescript background vocals.
2637164, I like the previous 3 albums quite a bit.
Posted by sfMatt, Thu Dec-08-11 02:17 AM
But I think Undun tops all of them, including Game Theory.

I am playing Undun front to back on repeat with no qualms.
2637222, people in Redford's life as opposed to playing him from different angles
Posted by bentagain, Thu Dec-08-11 09:28 AM
After a week of nonstop listening, I think they are characters in Redford's life

Krit is Redfords spirit. His verse is Redford's one on one conversation with God, asking for mercy and pleading for forgiveness and understanding about his situation and the choices he made in the absence of alternatives, etc...

Phonte is Redfords assassin. His verse is a detailed account of getting geared up and ready for taking Redford out

Porn, Dice and Truck are Redfords crew

Porn is the baller. The guy that's all flash, Slick Rick jewelry and Jay Leno cars. He probably dies before Redford.

Dice is the reluctant hustler. He's got a conscious and questions the decisions they made from the beginning. He probably survives and finds a life outside of the game

Truck is muscle. He's probably satisfied with the status they have in the neighborhood and doesn't have a desire to rise much above a street level cat.

Redford, Porn, and Truck remind me of the characters in Paid in Full. Redford being Wood Harris' character. Quiet, low-key hustler, but he's got all the juice. Porn would be Mekhi Pfifer's character, his need to be in the game is strictly material. Truck is Camron's character, always on the block and into dirt.


2637399, I thought ?uest said on here that
Posted by Anonymous, Thu Dec-08-11 03:46 PM
the guests were taking on different personalities of Redford.

I could be wrong.

I like the way you're thinking about it though and that way makes more sense to me but I would need to go back and really listen to see if it adds up.

I've been listening with the assumption they're all Redford due to what I thought ?uest posted about.
2637666, different personalities of Redford
Posted by bentagain, Fri Dec-09-11 09:23 AM
I don't think it's too far of a stretch to interpret different personalities of the same character as individual characters themselves

Maybe because the voices are different, it was easier for me to think of them as different people in Redford's life, instead of 5 different personalities inside one character

There was also a transistion where BT just seemed to be all in

That's why I thought of him as Redford

I imagined BT and Dice as friends from the beginning

and when BT decided to go all in on the hustle game, Dice went along with it because that was his man, but he seemed to be more conscious of the pitfalls and possible outcomes of that decision

where as BT may have also contemplated those same issues, and said fuck it, I'm in it to win it, whatever the cost may be

along the way, they add Porn to the crew

they crew up while still youngins, and he's wildin from the beginning

Porn's character lacks any restraint and is close to being completely out of control

Truck feels like a FA, and because Redfords crew is hot for the minute, he's watching their back and flexing on rivals

I also took the sequence of their appearances literally

Dice is there from the beginning

Porn shows up when they start making noise

and Truck shows up at the height of their success



2637692, actually it was confirmed that they're all Red
Posted by Anonymous, Fri Dec-09-11 10:40 AM
listening again, it does sound that way as well as opposed to them playing different characters.

I love the way it came out but I think it would've been fun to explore the other option as well.
2637566, Quest already said its all Redford though
Posted by xangeluvr, Thu Dec-08-11 11:00 PM
i don't see the confusion.
2637190, this is a great album, make my, kool on & tip the scale and the
Posted by Hellyeah, Thu Dec-08-11 06:26 AM
orchestral tracks at the end are stellar....but i think we've had enough "dark" albums from the roots...i really hope they'll make something fun next time
2637246, Straight.com - Vancuver
Posted by handle, Thu Dec-08-11 10:54 AM
http://www.straight.com/article-558046/vancouver/roots-spin-tale-life-cut-short

Spoiler alert: the character at the centre of the Roots’ 13th album ends up dying. Actually, that’s not much of a spoiler, since Redford Stephens starts out dying; his flatlined heart monitor is the first thing we hear on the opening track, “Dun”. The songs that follow are his postmortem musings on his short life, told in reverse and focusing on the pivotal moments.

Well, that’s the concept, anyway. What exactly those turning points are is hard to figure out, since the Roots’ lead MC and lyricist Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter doesn’t so much provide a clear story arc as present a series of images. These add up to a picture of a young boy in the hood who takes a series of wrong turns and winds up on a morgue slab at 25. According to the group’s website, “Through the use of emotives and Redford’s internal dialogues the album seeks to illustrate the intersection of free will and prescribed destiny as it plays out ‘on the corner’.”

What’s missing, though, is any real sense of who Redford is or exactly what drove him to his demise. If you want the character’s back story, well, there’s an app for that, one that features videos and photos intended to provide listeners with a more immersive experience. There’s an argument to be made that if an album requires supplementary material to explain its concept, perhaps the concept isn’t strong enough to stand on its own. I won’t go that far, but I will say that, on its own, undun feels like a novel with several key chapters missing.

None of which is to say that the album isn’t worth hearing. It’s all (perhaps predictably) downbeat, and as such isn’t brimming with potential hit singles, but there are some great tracks. “Stomp” is a stone-cold killer, built from a dead-simple but effective kick-snare beat courtesy of drummer Amir “?uestlove” Thompson. That’s topped by a fuzzy ’70s-funk guitar line and a staccato piano riff reminiscent of ’90s gangsta rap, over which guest MC Greg Porn offers this blunt wish-I’d-never-been-born couplet: “Put the knife in ya back cut down to the red meat/Daddy should’ve let me be a stain on the bed sheets.”

Equally bleak is “Lighthouse”, on which Redford’s existential despair is couched in maritime metaphors: “You’re facedown in the ocean/And no one’s in the lighthouse”.

The record closes in a way that reveals the Roots’ musical aims to be as lofty as its conceptual ambition. It’s an instrumental suite with four short movements. The first is “Redford (For Yia-Yia and Pappou)”, the achingly tender Sufjan Stevens piano piece that gave undun its character’s first name (his surname was surely inspired by Stevens’s own). The most gripping movement, however, is the third, “Will to Power”, which is one minute and three seconds’ worth of ?uestlove and Canadian jazz pianist D.D. Jackson going totally off the rails. It’s a burst of chaos that’s over almost as soon as it begins, and as such is a perfect illustration of Redford’s imaginary life, which spiraled out of control and then came to an abrupt, needless end.
2637275, comments like this really irk me...
Posted by sfMatt, Thu Dec-08-11 12:23 PM

>It’s all (perhaps predictably) downbeat, and as such isn’t
>brimming with potential hit singles


I hate the idea that I live in a world where "OtherSide" and "Kool On" don't qualify as potentially big singles.

And all this talk about the album being inaccessible in comparison to other Roots albums!??!??

What the fuck are these people hearing? Just because it's on some dark/sad shit it has no ability to be catchy? I've had those cuts stuck in my head since I heard them play one.
2637277, GREAT album, gets better with each listen, and BANGS in the car.
Posted by phenompyrus, Thu Dec-08-11 12:28 PM
*standing ovation*
2637382, a complete live version of this album would kill
Posted by justin_scott, Thu Dec-08-11 03:14 PM
not that the album doesn't. it hasn't left my car in a week.
2637400, ^^^there it is
Posted by Anonymous, Thu Dec-08-11 03:47 PM
do you hear that version of The OtherSide live on Fallon?

why isn't that shit on the record! lol

I think it would be dope if it was a double album with Disc 1 being what we have and Disc 2 being the live versions.

I'd drop 20 on that for sure.
2637396, For as important as the lyrics are for this, why aren't they in the booklet?
Posted by phenompyrus, Thu Dec-08-11 03:38 PM
Wouldn't that seem like a no-brainer?
Also, why not include the videos too?

Nitpicks, and doesn't take away from the great album, but still...
2637440, RE: Dice's hooks
Posted by forgivenphoenix, Thu Dec-08-11 04:52 PM
I know Dice can't SANG, not like Bilal or maybe like Jill Scott or someone who's a classically trained singer, but i think the texture and the struggle of him getting through the words kinda embody the spirit and state of mind of Redford. like he wouldn't be someone with a polished sensibility because of his environment and the voice of Dice kind of matches.

of course this doesn't account for Bilal singing on The OtherSide, but every explanation can't be precise all of the time. ;)
2637567, this would be a copout and an excuse
Posted by xangeluvr, Thu Dec-08-11 11:02 PM
no, i think they were just letting dice sing it because he wrote the words. plus they probably saved money by not going with other singers.

>I know Dice can't SANG, not like Bilal or maybe like Jill
>Scott or someone who's a classically trained singer, but i
>think the texture and the struggle of him getting through the
>words kinda embody the spirit and state of mind of Redford.
>like he wouldn't be someone with a polished sensibility
>because of his environment and the voice of Dice kind of
>matches.
>
>of course this doesn't account for Bilal singing on The
>OtherSide, but every explanation can't be precise all of the
>time. ;)
2637644, jesus, let it go.
Posted by ninjitsu, Fri Dec-09-11 05:20 AM
dice sounds fine.

the end.
2637651, heaven forbid we discuss something on a discussion board
Posted by xangeluvr, Fri Dec-09-11 06:59 AM
>dice sounds fine.
>
>the end.


2637880, harping endlessly on about something makes for wonderful discussion.
Posted by ninjitsu, Fri Dec-09-11 04:03 PM
2637531, 'Kool On' & 'Lighthouse' are my favorites
Posted by im_freshhh, Thu Dec-08-11 09:31 PM
i fucks with PORN, someone get that dude a deal & an album out, now!
not really a fan of Dice, but i really felt him on 'Lighthouse'.
overall, the album is extremely dope.
probably wont leave my car stereo for a few weeks.
2637648, IGN
Posted by handle, Fri Dec-09-11 06:30 AM
http://music.ign.com/articles/121/1214302p1.html

The Roots: Undun Review
Philly band delivers one of the best of their career with latest album.

One of the few actual bands in rap, The Roots take a startlingly different direction for their thirteenth album. The Philly geniuses offer their first concept album, telling the fictional tale of recently deceased Redford Stephens reflecting on his life on the streets. Musically floating between shimmering neo-soul and funky blaxploitation-era R&B, they create a gorgeous vibe that envelops you from start to finish with ?uestlove's thumping live beats laying the path for Black Thought's verses to stalk over. The result is a mesmerizing, downbeat listen that instantly places itself near the top of the band's impressive catalog.

Opening with the eerie flat line sound on atmospheric instrumental "Dun", the album quickly finds Redford waking in the morgue on "Sleep", struggling with his fate over the off-kilter horn infused sway of the music before evaporating into the mellow cool of "Make My". The oozing organ, ticking beat, and flickering guitar make for a suitably calming backdrop, accepting his fate as the gravity of the situation begins to weigh on him, "If there is a heaven, I can't find the stairway".

The piano-laced beat of "One Time" stuffs a lot of messages into a single track, as the struggle to get by in the streets, "Stick to the script, n*gga / f*ck your improv", is told between a hook questioning the need to rush through life and the sad reality of the some in the hood learning math just to understand the price of crack. The singular focus of "Lighthouse" works a bit better, as Redford ponders his cycle of self-destruction.

While the marching thump of "Stomp" recalls him pondering suicide and wondering whether he should have even been born, the album has an uplifting tone that comes through in the guitar slithering through funky feel-good tune "Kool On", as he readies for a night on the town, "Come get your cool on / Stars are made to shine". The chilled beat and drippy keys humming in the deep make for a great closer on "Tip The Scales" as Redford ponders the fairness of the justice system before the album drifts into the pretty closing instrumental suite, built off Sufjan Stevens' "Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou).

The album's only faults are its short length, leaving you badly wanting more after it concludes just short of forty-minutes, and the use of guest rappers to flush out the tale of Redford's life. Though the appearances from Greg Porn, Big K.R.I.T., and Dice Raw are all fantastic, it would have made for a stronger narrative had Redford's tale been told solely through the singular voice of Black Thought. As Blial's passionate hook over the surging organ of "The OtherSide" proves, guests are certainly welcome in the hook. The piano speckled through ?uestlove's steady thumping beat makes for a definite winner, as Black Thought warns, "Yo, we obviously need to tone it down a bit / Running round town, spending time like its counterfeit".

Minor complaints aside, The Roots' latest is a breathtaking album that proves the longtime band still has some tricks up their sleeve.
2637676, 40+min of blank space, i wish the album played chronologically.
Posted by FortifiedLive, Fri Dec-09-11 09:59 AM
like:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10-14 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ->

of course they'd have to put in a little work for the tracks to transition nicely on the 2nd half. i played it in this order the other day and it was pretty dope.
2637802, Even if it's not meant to be heard that way? Interesting
Posted by johnbook, Fri Dec-09-11 02:23 PM
Nah, it can be heard anyway you want, but when it comes to concept albums, many are adamant about hearing it only one or two ways. They'll get into fights because of it.




THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
2639207, yeah.
Posted by FortifiedLive, Wed Dec-14-11 10:16 AM
it'd still play the way the originally intended in the first half - death to birth. and while it's no mystery to the listener that it plays in this order, it plays just as great the other way around and, to me, it makes me appreciate the album even more, seeing it from both sides. perhaps making the second half from birth to death as one hidden track or download would've been an awesome extra while still keeping their vision of the album.
2638075, yea this was the basis of my PopMatters review
Posted by Nodima, Sat Dec-10-11 02:43 AM
I really, really enjoy this album when I play it back-front-back. It's great either way on it's own but it's best to me when you loop it like that.

As if you hear how the story went down, and then the last moments of his life flashes before his eyes as he dies. It's just neat to me, and even though it's the same songs they have a different feel in the different sequences so I have no real trouble pretending it's a 70 minute album.


~~~~~~~~~
NO LA

"This is the streets, and I am the trap." © Jay Bilas

http://www.last.fm/user/NodimaChee

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/Nodima/run_that_shit__nodimas_hip_hop_handbook
2639208, ><
Posted by FortifiedLive, Wed Dec-14-11 10:17 AM
2637754, This could be their Berlin (Lou Reed)
Posted by dgonsh, Fri Dec-09-11 12:51 PM
I see a Roots Come Alive esque live release of the album.

It's dark and while well received critically, it doesnt have "DYWAM" or "TFA" level fandemonium.

I can really see this becoming a cult favourite with an incredible live DVD performance of the whole album. Full orchestra, sufjan, dd, bilal, d, dice, mercedes, porn, etc etc.

That's what I'd love to see come out of this. It tells a story. It's morose. Its tracks are not all easily digestible individually. But as a whole record, I could see this being something special.
2637815, Look at OKC review
Posted by handle, Fri Dec-09-11 02:33 PM
http://newsok.com/cd-review-the-roots-undun/article/3630076

The Roots “Undun” (Def Jam)

Possibly the saddest but most thematically ambitious work of The Roots' lengthy career, “Undun” is a brief and emotionally rich concept album about Redford Stevens, a fictional street criminal killed in pursuit of ill-gotten gains. Working backward from his death, “Undun” unspools with downcast cinematic lushness — a little Marvin Gaye's “What's Going On,” a bit of Curtis Mayfield, and some Kanye West circa “808s and Heartbreak” — and much like the Guess Who song that lends the album its title, it was too late for Redford Stevens.

“I did it all for the money, Lord,” Big K.R.I.T. raps on “Make My,” the character's last words as he prepares to “make my departure from the world.” Anchored by Questlove's constant groove, The Roots deliver an unabashedly beautiful musical coda, setting the listener up for the rousing “One Time,” depicting Redford at his height of gangsta power, fearless, and the band constructs a stately, rousing melody that belies the fact that Redford is going “to make it to the bottom, it's such a hard climb.”

After marking off the character's life from end to beginning, “Undun” ends with a four-movement suite, beginning with Sufjan Stevens' “Redford (For Yia Yia and Pappou)” and then culminating in a crash of drums and cascading piano lines and an ending string quartet, mournfully exhaling the last life out of Redford. It's a thug's life, but as “Undun” so deftly illustrates, there was a time of hope before the street got him. For years, The Roots' best card to play was the consummate musicianship of the band, but with “Undun,” Questlove and his band have created a lyrical and quietly moving album about a life wasted quickly that questions why stories such as this one have to be told so often.

— George Lang

Read more: http://newsok.com/cd-review-the-roots-undun/article/3630076#ixzz1g4K1fde2
2638031, would have been cool to let Thought sing a hook or 2 IMO
Posted by Stadiq, Fri Dec-09-11 10:10 PM
but I don't have any complaints- Dice is dope on this.

Actually only hook that took time to grow on me was Lighthouse- sh*t (at first) sounded like the theme song from some rejected 80s sitcom starring Scott Bao as a Lighthouse operator or some shit.

But I'm past it.

Would have been cool to get Jean Grae or Jilly or the Right On chick to sing I Remember though...
2638232, um, that's the jazzyfatnastees on I Remember
Posted by ninjitsu, Sun Dec-11-11 08:14 AM
they have a lot of history with the roots. more so than jean grey or even jill scott.
2640778, fair enough but I think the hook could use more
Posted by Stadiq, Sun Dec-18-11 05:02 PM
personality
2638458, Lighthouse is amazing
Posted by IslaSoul, Mon Dec-12-11 03:37 AM

That hook & beat are stuck in my head
2638979, 100 Albums, 100 Weeks: A/A-
Posted by johnbook, Tue Dec-13-11 02:28 PM
http://100albums100weeks.blogspot.com/2011/12/final-grade-aa.html




THE HOME OF BOOK-NESS:
http://www.thisisbooksmusic.com/
http://twitter.com/thisisjohnbook
http://www.facebook.com/book1


http://i32.tinypic.com/kbewp4.gif
2639181, Dice Raw sounds great.
Posted by mathmagic, Wed Dec-14-11 08:36 AM
the fuck are yall complaining about?

>This thread might be the official review thread for Undun.
>
>
>Review #1:
>-------------------------------------------
>Johnbook put up the first official review earlier today,
>11/15/2011.
>
>http://kevinnottingham.com/2011/11/15/the-roots-undun/
>
>I'm not going to swipe it - give him the page views.
>
>Has samples of "Lighthouse" and "The Other Side" that you
>haven't heard yet.
2640265, WBEZ review - 3.5 out of 5
Posted by handle, Fri Dec-16-11 01:47 PM
http://www.wbez.org/blog/jim-derogatis/2011-12-16/album-review-roots-%E2%80%98undun%E2%80%99-def-jam-94876

The nihilism inherent in committing to a life of a crime and the havoc that choice wreaks in African-American communities is not a new subject for the Roots; one could argue that it’s been a primary theme on every album the Philadelphia collective has made since 1993. What is new about the group’s 11th proper studio effort Undun is labeling this all-too-common and all-too-familiar story “a concept album,” complete with many of the trappings we’d expect from any self-respecting progressive-rock band, and screaming for a bit of recognition as capital-A “art.”

Hard to fault Questlove & Company on that front, since even before they accepted the corporate paycheck, healthcare benefits, and more regular home lives afforded a late-night talk-show band, they’d long since been taken for granted in the music world, consistently given props as “the best live band in hip-hop,” but rarely garnering the attention they deserved for their new albums (and while 1999’s Things Fall Apart and 2002’s Phrenology remain the masterpieces, really, they’ve never made a bad one). Then, too, they’ve hardly become the hackneyed Doc Severinsens of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, proving they’re as sharp as ever with the song choices that usher out the usual procession of glad-handers and self-promoters. (We are, of course, speaking of Bachmanngate.)

In any event, there’s a faint whiff of over-reaching and a hint of ponderous pretension on Undun, mostly on the lyrical/conceptual front.The story starts at the beginning, with the death of fictional protagonist Redford Stephens, and works backward through the tale of his bad choices and worse actions. But the effectiveness of this Joycean setup is hurt by the album’s musical arc: The opening funereal elegy “Undun” makes sense in context, but the closing four-part classical-meets-free jazz instrumental suite (with extra added Sufjan Stevens!) just doesn’t fit. Minus the album’s accompanying multi-media app (shades of Bjork!), it’s hard to follow the story, much less catch the biographical details of our anti-hero. And while the raps from Black Thought and assorted guests like Dice Raw and Greg Porn have some memorable lines (“You either done doin’ crime or you done in”; “I live life trying to tip the scales my way”; “Lotta niggas go to prison/How many come out Malcolm X?”), they lack the novelistic details we’d expect from, say, a Ghostface Killah, much less an Iceberg Slim.

All of that said, if you can separate the musical middle of the album from the beginning, the ending, the app, and the (failed) ambitions, tunes such as the old-school funk-pop groover “Kool On,” the haunting “Tip the Scale,” the gospel-soul anthem “Make My,” and the ferocious but melodic “The Other Side” rank with the very best the collective ever has recorded, driven home like an unrelenting rain by the most powerful snare drum in hip-hop or R&B, and boasting a profound artistry, intelligence, and consciousness that just doesn’t need heavy conceptualizing or Sufjan samples to be lauded as worthy art.

On the four-star scale: 3.5 stars.
2640390, out of 4.
Posted by sfMatt, Fri Dec-16-11 05:09 PM
>On the *four-star* scale: 3.5 stars.


;)
2640267, News-mail.AU 4.5 out of 5
Posted by handle, Fri Dec-16-11 01:48 PM
http://www.news-mail.com.au/story/2011/12/16/album-review-roots-undun/

Album review: The Roots, undun

Scott Kara | 16th December 2011





Tags the roots, undun
HERE, the Roots are known as an alternative hip-hop outfit - and in their 20-year reign they have made some of the finest music to come out of that genre.

The Roots.
Related links

Preview: El Camino - The Black Keys

HERE, the Roots are known as an alternative hip-hop outfit - and in their 20-year reign they have made some of the finest, and most intelligent music to come out of that genre.

Meanwhile, over in the US, they're also known as the house band for popular talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. And it's that breadth of talent that makes this Philadelphia band - yes, a real live band led by rapper Black Thought and drummer ?uestlove, which is another rare phenomenon in hip-hop - so damn good.

While they have jazzed up and wigged out hip-hop to create a dizzying sonic palette all of their own over the years, with 1999's Things Fall Apart and 2002's classic Phrenology two of the band's pinnacles, on last album, How I Got Over, they moved towards a more stylish and smooth sound. It was an ambitious, guest-laden hip-hop cabaret, but no less forward-thinking and powerful in its intent.

On undun - the band's first concept album (more on that soon) - they continue in the same vein, only it's even more refined and even-tempered. Although Stomp is a sinister exception.

>> More entertainment news

Make My starts out as a sweet refrain - like the hip-hop equivalent of yacht rock - but as with the rest of the album the singing is interwoven seamlessly with tough, probing raps.

It's some yacht rock-style vocals that provide many of the album's most beautiful moments - Lighthouse wouldn't sound out of place on a Hall & Oates album (apart from the rap bits perhaps) and on One Time guest singer Phonte is channelling Toto. But it works.

Elsewhere, neo-soul singer Bilal Oliver does a serenading star turn on album highlight The Otherside, Kool On is, indeed, one of the coolest things to get down to this summer, and if the beat of Tip the Scale was any more laid-back it would need beating with a big stick. But even that works.

Then there are the delicate glitches and trumpet runs, and stunning fragility of a song like Sleep, which is an example of just how exquisite and accomplished this eleventh Roots album is.

Though the guest list is not as diverse as How I Got Over, experimental folkie Sufjan Stevens' brief but beautiful turn on the first part of the album-ending Redford Suite is an inspired choice. In fact, Stevens' song Redford (For Yia-Yia & Pappou) from his 2003 album Michigan is the inspiration for the concept album's main character Redford Stephens. The record details his life growing up, struggling to survive and turning to crime to make ends meet.

Not that it necessarily plays out like a concept album, because apart from the bookends of Dun at the beginning and the Redford Suite, the songs stand up by themselves.

Just like the Black Keys' latest, released last week, with undun the Roots make a late run for album of the year.

Stars: 4.5/5
Verdict: Another album of the year contender
2640753, NPR- Weekend Edition (story + 10 audio minute review)
Posted by handle, Sun Dec-18-11 02:41 PM
http://www.npr.org/2011/12/18/143891292/the-roots-weave-a-tale-of-crime-and-karma?ps=mh_frhdl1

Black Thought and ?uestlove BOTh speak on the record

The Roots Weave A Tale Of Crime And Karma

The Roots might be best known today as the house band on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. But the group has been making boundary-pushing hip-hop for more than two decades, and has just released its latest album, undun.

More than just a collection of songs, undun is a kind of ultra-modern opera about a drug runner named Redford Stephens, who comes to ruin after a brief, violent life. The group's MC, Tariq Trotter — better known by his stage name, Black Thought — says that although Stephens isn't real, the character's story hits close to home.

The Roots say many of the lyrics on undun went through numerous rewrites. Here's an excerpt from the track "The OtherSide":

Yo, we obviously need to tone it down a bit
Running round town spending time like it's counterfeit
Everybody catching hay fever like sinuses
Step in my arena let me show y'all who the highness is
You might say I could be doing something positive
Humbled head down low and broke like promises
Soaking and broken in a joke like comics is
Not enough paper to be paying folks compliments
But when that paper got low so did my tolerance
And it ain't no truth in a dare without the consequence
Listen if it not for these hood inventions
I'd just be another kid from the block with no intentions
On the dock of that bay serving a life sentence
Even if I'm going to hell I'm gonna make an entrance
Yeah, let 'em know I'm getting cheese like omelets is
But I'm the toast of the town like Thomas is
"Where I'm from, the life expectancy is about 25 or 26. My father was murdered at 26. I remember when I was 15 or 16 years old, I couldn't imagine what life would be like past the age of 30, just because I didn't know that many men who had lived beyond their 20s," Trotter says. "It's not specifically my story, or my father's story, or my older brother's story. But it could be any of those."

"We wanted to tell the story in a reverse-linear mode, so the album pretty much starts with death," says drummer and bandleader Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, who cofounded The Roots with Trotter in 1987. "We thought it was important to show that when you choose this path, it's a dead end."

Drugs and crime are common themes in hip-hop, but Thompson says they're often described in the past tense — e.g., Jay-Z's early raps about his old life as a cocaine dealer.

"It's always a grandiose vision of this particular character," Thompson says. "We wanted to show the minion — the guy who's lowest on the food chain."

"I wanted to present it in a way that wasn't exaggerated or cartoonish," Trotter adds. "I wanted to make it easier to understand how people wind up in the situations they wind up in — how easy it is."

LEARN MORE
?uestlove explains the title 'undun'
Add to Playlist

Black Thought discusses The Roots' new level of exposure
Add to Playlist

Telling the story right meant giving careful consideration to the lyrics. Trotter says that, more that any other Roots album, undun came together via a slow and deliberate process of revision.

"Everything you hear me saying on this record is at least the fourth or fifth draft," he says. "I would write a verse and then rewrite it and rewrite it. I don't sit down and write a song, and then slam down the phone like, 'We got another one!' and pop some champagne. It's like if someone's writing a novel: You write a series of drafts."
2640754, Relevant Magazine Review
Posted by handle, Sun Dec-18-11 02:43 PM
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/reviews/27563-review-the-roots-undun

rewarding and focused concept album.


It was Orson Welles who said, “The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.” When The Roots—who make no bones about their hip-hop being art—go off the rails, it’s usually because they should have listened to him. Their 2002 album Phrenology was filled to bursting in a good way—with drummer/bandleader Questlove’s massive grooves and lead emcee Black Thought’s ideas about hip-hop and life and addiction—but at times it was just too much. In fact, on every Roots album until last year’s How I Got Over there have been moments—usually the more experimental ones—where the banks overflowed and the message was lost.

Let’s be clear: that’s a picky criticism of a handful of really great albums. But when The Roots announced this year’s undun would be a concept album, named after a song by The Who, told in Memento-style reverse about a fictional drug dealer named Redford Stephens and the moment of his murder, and Redford is named after a Sufjan Stevens song and the final moments of the album are a four-movement suite of instrumental explorations of that Sufjan Stevens song—well, it made me kind of nervous.

I shouldn’t have worried. The best artists, understanding what Welles was getting at, are able to use concept as another limitation—just like key or genre or arrangement—that provides focus and direction. And that’s exactly what The Roots have done here: undun is the most focused record of their career.

Oh there I go / from a man to a memory, says Black Thought early on in “Sleep.” And that focus on death doesn’t let up until the very last verse on the album, a Dice Raw rumination on prison that ends with the lines, Only two ways out, digging tunnels or digging graves out. Black Thought has described undun as an “existential retelling” of Redford’s story, which is appropriate. There are no scenes or exposition or dialogue here. In fact, if the album does tell Redford’s life story in reverse, it’s pretty hard to tell. Every note on the album is tinged with doom, and each lyric is haunted by one precise moment in Redford’s life: the moment before death.

That sounds gloomy, and it is. Questlove and the band spend the 38 minutes of the album painting Redford’s story in different hues of the same black-and-white, film-noir feel. The few moments of lightness are what make all the difference: keyboardist Kamal Gray’s hazy synths give the deathbed-regret of “Make My” a beautiful, glowing clarity. Dice Raw’s lilting hook in “Lighthouse” is urgent and life-affirming—even amidst the overwhelming pessimism of the lyrics: You’re face-down in the ocean / There’s no one in the lighthouse—and it’s the catchiest moment on the album.

Speaking of Dice Raw, his guest verses are each scene-stealers (including maybe the album’s best line: I wonder when you die / Do you hear harps and bagpipes / If you born on the other side of the crack pipe), and Phonte, Big K.R.I.T., Greg Porn and Truck North all contribute verses as well. But this is clearly Black Thought’s album. If, as his critics say, he lacks variety in his flow and style, he more than makes up for it in depth. Throughout undun he’s in poet-philosopher mode, and not a lyric is wasted; each line points to another one on the album, each turn of phrase has depths of meaning that reveal themselves on multiple listens.

If anything, undun suffers from having too much focus. Compared to the genre-busting groovefest of Phrenology or the globetrotting pop of How I Got Over, undun is downright unexciting. But I get the feeling it’s meant for those who spend time with it—those who read the lyrics and their fan interpretations on Rapgenius.com and download the album’s accompanying iPhone app to watch the staged interviews with Redford’s friends and family. Redford’s decisions have consequences; watching them play out in slow motion demands self-examination. Even if it’s fictional, this album is personal, and its deepest rewards are personal.

Oh, right. “Redford Suite,” the Sufjan-inspired instrumental closer? It’s brief, and it’s beautiful. The chamber music would seem out of place if it didn’t crop up in a handful of other places on the album, like the Questlove-composed string outro of “Tip the Scales.” That outro serves as a moment of beauty amidst the heaviness of the album, and the Redford Suite inverts that formula—a light, hopeful, minimalist string quartet punctuated by a heavy, violent and atonal drums-and-piano breakdown. It’s a twist of the knife, a stumbling block for listeners attempting to find abstract solace and redemption in the instrumental closer, which starts to serve as a thesis statement for the album on repeat listens. In Redford’s world, even the simplest beauty is touched by violence.

So undun, while not The Roots’ best album, might be their deepest, and it’s uniquely rewarding. They’ve worked within a very strict set of limitations to craft a truly generous, incredibly thought-provoking album about death, regret and the choices that make a man. Dig deep and it’ll change you.

Steve Slagg is a musician, writer and tech geek living in Chicago. You can follow his songs, his blog or his tweets, or e-mail him at steve (dot) slagg (at) gmail (dot) com.
2642497, late, but got dang @ 'Lighthouse'.
Posted by Dr Claw, Thu Dec-22-11 10:53 PM
copped the CD, threw it in the Volvo during tonight's misadventures on the open road.

Dice Raw sounds way different to me nowadays... like he got his nose cleared out or something.

man. of all the tracks, "Lighthouse" is that shit. good work as usual, Roots.
2642518, Rap Reviews
Posted by MILF DOOM, Fri Dec-23-11 01:46 AM
http://www.rapreviews.com/

The cover of The Roots "undun" reminds me of an Black Thought rhyme from their "Organix" days, when he promised to "rip the vocal backflip" for his city of Philadelphia for no other reason besides the fact that "the kid is a bad bro." It's possible some people forgot how sweet and badass the "all the way live, from the 2-1-5" kids were though, given that following the release of "How I Got Over" they took up permanent residence as Jimmy Fallon's jam band on the late night TV talk show airwaves. Giving Michele Bachmann a dose of hip-hop justice by playing Fishbone's "Lying Ass Bitch" for her entrance on Fallon's show may have earned them the ire of both the host and NBC, but for me it was a pleasant reminder the crew could still push buttons.

"undun" is exactly the kind of raw uncut rap one would expect from the greatest hip-hop band of the modern era, although it also includes a reference to their changing career direction. We'll get to that in a moment though. The first thing that stands out to me is that this if you don't include EP releases, this may be the shortest Roots release to date, clocking in at just under 39 minutes. The second thing that's inescapable is that this is purposefully designed to be a "concept album," telling a life story from start to finish, much like the unheralded Organized Konfusion album "Equinox." The opening track may at first sound like a modem's dial tone, but it's actually a flatline for the mother of the story's protagonist, one Redford Stephens. As he comes of age and learns to hustle to survive, "Make My" tells the tale with a little help from Big K.R.I.T. and Dice Raw. As usual though even on a Roots track with strong cameos, Black Thought's presence and verbals stand out:

"Tryin to control the fits of panic
Unwritten and unraveled, it's the dead man's pedantic
Whatever, see it's really just a matter of semantics
When everybody's fresh out of collateral to damage
And, my splayin got me +praying+ like a +mantis+
I begin to vanish, feel the pull of the blank canvas
I'm contemplatin, that special dedication
to whoever it concern, my letter of resignation
Fadin, back to black, my dark coronation
The heat of the day, the long robe of muerte
That soul's in the atmosphere like airplay
If there's a Heaven I can't find a +Stairway+"

The one person who probably comes in on par with Thought in any cameo is Phonte, who excels on the excellent song "One Time." This is my second favorite joint on this far too short CD - the hard drumming of ?uestlove and piano jammy jamming to it make for a classic headnodder you could have found on any Roots CD of old. The throwback funk of "Kool On" is as good if not better though, and once again the guests are well chosen as Greg Porn and Truck North do not disappoint - the former in particular is someone I need to keep my eye on. Thought is an unstoppable and untoppable force though, displaying his precise lyrical attack in the middle of the track:

"Yo, I'm never sleepin like I'm on methamphetamines
Move like my enemy ten steps ahead of me
Say my reputation precedes me like a pedigree
Gentlemanly gangster steez, beyond the seventies
Holdin fast money without runnin out of patience
Move in silence, without runnin up in places
Cake by the layers, rich but never famous
Hustle anonymous still remain nameless
In hindsight, gold come in bars like a Klondike
The minute before the storm hit is what I'm calm like
Suited and booted for a shootin like it's prom night
It's suicide, right? Pursuers tried like
to no avail and a hero's what they died like
I got 'em waitin on the news like I'm Cronkite
Not in the limelight, or needed for the crime right
No boasts, just bodied and chalked close to the line tight"

This is the peak of the album though. Other than a resurgence near the end for "Tip the Scale," the songs get progressively shorter and shorter, ultimately leading to an instrumental quarter at the end to close out Redford's story. One shouldn't read that as implying the other songs after "Kool On" are bad, rather that they are digested so quickly that they don't make the impact musically or lyrically of the earlier work. "Stomp" certainly lives up to its title, and even though there have been more "let's reminisce" tracks in hip-hop than you can shake a stick at, Black Thought's "I Remember" is both worth the time and an important chapter in Mr. Redford's story, which in this album's short span comes to a tragic yet expected end.

If one can express disappointment in "undun," it's that it sets out to tell a story and tells it well, but delivers a short story or a novella where fans of The Roots would have undoubtedly preferred a full length novel. It almost feels like they skipped a few chapters, or that an overzealous editor deleted them, but that's hard to accept given The Roots continued their long-standing practice of numbering each song sequentially. That makes the closer "Finality (4th Movement)" track #170 in their career, though much like the numbering of UFC pay-per-views that's selectively skipping events and "half steps" here and there to derive a conclusion. Regardless this is The Roots of 2011 though - having to make their point quickly in a shorter amount of time, much like choosing to play Fishbone for Michelle Bachmann moments before she came on stage. It would be false to say that it doesn't work, but as a critic AND a fan, I still want more of what the Illadelph's funkiest have in store.

Music Vibes: 8 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 8 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 8 of 10
2642694, debuts at #17 on billboard hot 200. 2nd week, falls to #70
Posted by justin_scott, Fri Dec-23-11 09:42 PM
.
2642709, seriously... this might be the most satisfying Roots album in years.
Posted by Dr Claw, Fri Dec-23-11 11:29 PM
like... this shit reminds me from top to bottom why I liked the Roots in the first place. a whole lot of "how did they do that", attention to detail. and it's not even retro in the slightest. this is modern, this is daring, this is... man.

I'm just glad they're at the point in their career that they could record something like this.
2643404, The Smoking Section
Posted by handle, Tue Dec-27-11 11:46 AM
“The Other Side” – Review Of The Roots’ undun
http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2011/12/review-of-the-roots-undun


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“The Other Side” – Review Of The Roots’ undun
ALBUM REVIEWS By Greg Whitt on December 21, 2011 at 9:00 pm

The artwork for The Roots’ thirteenth studio album undun depicts a child completely inverted, mid-air, after springing up from a frayed, dirty and potentially dangerous, mattress. In that fleeting moment he’s flying. For a fraction of a second he rises above his surroundings. On undun, the listener witnesses the brief flight of the fictional, but all too real, Redford Stephens, a 25-year-old young man. He, as we learn on the first song, has died tragically. From there, the album follows a reverse narrative structure that allows the listener to trace Redford’s steps and see what led him to his demise. While ambitious, undun isn’t quite so successful in executing that bold storyline, but still stands out for what it is: a beautifully sequenced, cohesive, body of work that can jockey for position among the best albums in The Roots’ discography.

On undun, The Roots were able to perfect a consistently strong aspect of their career long approach: the guest appearance. Each vocalist, emcee and instrumentalist works together in an almost symbiotic fashion. With no part outshining the whole, the album develops like a masterfully shot film with a talented ensemble cast. Star turns from Phonte playing the bad guy on the sudden “One Time” (“weak-heartedness cannot be involved/stick to the script nigga/fuck your improv“) and Big K.R.I.T.’s resigned acceptance of mortality on the somber lullaby that is “Make My” show each guest applying what they do best without losing sight of the overall theme. Surprisingly strong performances by Money Making Jam Boys cohorts Greg Porn and Dice Raw, also add value instead of just occupying space in between Black Thought’s verses.

Fans of Thought as an unbridled microphone fiend might be taken aback by his subdued vocal approach on undun. He uses his voice as a sniper rifle as opposed to his usual 100-rhyme-drum assault weapon. The best example of this is his surgical dissection of the jagged guitar riffs on “Stomp” (“Speaking of pieces of a man/Staring at a future in the creases of my hand/It reads like a final letter I’m leaving for my fam but/It’s written in language they will never understand“). Throughout the album, Thought plows through without wasting one bar on unnecessary flourishes. A sense of desperation in his voice is subtle, but palpable throughout the album.

Even with the eclectic vocal performances, the production is far and away the star of this album. From rainforest lush orchestral strings, to incomparable percussion work by ?uestlove and throbbing keys, each track is an unique aural experience that still manages to work together collectively. Highlights included the upbeat “Kool On.” The classic rock meets classic soul soundscape seems perfect for a Spike Lee, “protagonist floating above rapidly worsening or confusing circumstances” montage. The subtle nod to Wu-Tang’s “Tearz” on the funereal “Tip The Scale” is beautifully haunting. ?uestlove anchors rich strings and delicate keys in hip-hop with classic boom-bap drums.

The album’s only glaring weakness doubles as its greatest selling point. Even with the CliffNotes from ?uestlove’s pre-release press run, the album isn’t terribly different thematically from say, How I Got Over or Game Theory . The narrative thread just isn’t that strong compared to the music’s quality. The story’s plot isn’t as clear and easily expressed through the lyrics as advertised, Nevertheless, undun is held together via pure emotion evoked by the production and the seamless way the vocalists collaborate. With each member of the cast of players supporting the other, The Roots prove once again they’re the real Philadelphia Dream Team.
2644102, MetaCritic score: 88/100
Posted by handle, Thu Dec-29-11 12:59 PM
http://www.metacritic.com/music/undun