Hi! FLASHBACKhoney is here, every now and then, to bring you the best anything that is out. I enjoy talking about music the most but this particular blog is called SHADE 101 and my motto is Throw as much as Possible! LOL SO with no further delay, here it goes…

Now, the last time we’ve heard from Angie Stone, she released her 2007 album The Art of Love and War which, according to Wikipedia, only sold 45,000 plus units. While I’m never concerned with sales really, I have to say this time, that’s a H.A.M. (Hot Ass Mess). Not too mention she had some really good albums such as her certified Gold album Mahogany Soul. Not only does Angie have her new album Unexpected dropping in 2010 but she also dropped some weight as I could tell. Hopefully, it wasn’t a camera trick…who knows! Anyway, speaking of weight, I feel like Angie Stone’s assistant,manager,stylist,and PR are plotting against her because the album cover for this new album is ridiculous. It shows Angie barely making her leg over a motorcycle and looking confused. What is THAT about? Was this the unexpected we weren’t expecting??? LOL Angie placing her butt on a motorcycle???? PLEASE! :-/ I want them to focus on a BETTER way to promote the soulstress Angie Stone besides trying to make her a HIP momma for these little kids still trying to bring the 80’s back! I lived in the 80’s, you’re WAYYYYYYYY off kiddies. Anyway, stay bless, don’t eat TOO much turkey and Gos Bless.

with Love,

FLASHBACKhoney

Angie Stone – Brother

B.
valcone.net

So I know we decided to call this a celebration and despite The Annie Lennox Collection, riding high in the charts, we should also be feeling sorry for hits albums because apparently it’s a dying formula. The advent of mp3 downloads making back catalogues available song-by-song has led to a veritable pick n’ mix attitude to slowly take over and before long, hits records will be banished to musical no-man’s land along with the Zavvi in Piccadilly Circus, CD singles and audiophiles.

But my up-until-recent vendetta against these best-ofs hasn’t been without reason. For one, I consider myself a mild completist; the long-standing arch nemeses of the hits album that’s already wallowing in no-man’s land. So when you already own everything the artists of your affection have released, a cheeky compilation album with one new track is just a nuisance. The whiz kid marketing strategist who started that behaviour is on my hit-list.

Then there are those too quick to release their greatest hits, like throw-away reality stars who ‘write’ autobiographies when they’re not even past their quarter-life crisis.

There are so many factors to a bad greatest hits albums that I thought I would compile a list [did I mention my penchant for lists?] of the worst offenders: the infuriating, the unnecessary and the unworthy can all be found below.

D’Angelo: The Best So Far

“Hey guys, D here. James River will be out soon, I promise. But in the meantime buy this compilation of the measly two albums I’ve managed to release within the last 16 years…oh and I threw in a few random songs so you wouldn’t get too mad at me for this bullshit.”

Call it what you like D, this ‘best so far’ is dick-teasing crap. If I have to record your third album myself…

ABBA: Gold

Yes, ABBA are entitled to a hits compilation considering the ridiculous amount of popular tunes they have. But when there are so many ABBA collections, albeit under different guises, that you could build a small city out of them then I object. Imagining that city gives me the shivers. It would be like a never-ending hen party in polyester flares.

The Boomtown Rats: The Best Of

Who are these dudes kidding? I’m pretty sure they only released one song; six albums must be a figment of Geldof’s imagination. So apparently ‘Rat Trap’ also went to number one but even if it did, there is no excuse for the amount of Boomtown Rats’ hit compilations that this Best Of is just one example of.

Spin Doctors: The Best Of

If you’re consistently showing up on one hit wonder collections, you’re probably not entitled to a Best Of.  And it’s not even like the Spin Doctors were this really great band that we should’ve discovered more of. ‘She Used to Be Mine’ or ‘Cleopatra’s Cat’ aren’t bad but they’re not ‘Two Princes’, so we’re inclined not to care.

Fugees: Greatest Hits

If this album is in your collection, you are not only lazy but also the biggest false economist on the block. The Fugees only released two albums, and a quick gander on Amazon has informed me that you can buy both of them for less than this farcical compilation. This is one of the sickest hip hop outfits from the 90s, go the extra mile.

Shakespear’s Sister: The Best Of

Three albums, only one that produced anything hit-worthy and yet they still feel the need to compile. Maybe life is too precious to waste it figuring out what could be considered Shakespear’s best, or not?. We could’ve donated the time to worthy causes like ending world poverty or curing cancer. Because if anyone is still hampering to hear ‘Stay’ they can buy Hormonally Yours and then regret it afterwards.

New Kids on the Block: Greatest Hits

For the cover alone, this album gets full marks: the music notation cardigan, the pseudo-quiffs and stonewashed jeans; just brilliant. But re-re-re-releases are like that boy who cried wolf; one day we just won’t listen anymore.

Creed: Greatest Hits

Let’s just be bold: Creed are pretty awful. The affectations of Scott Stapp’s singing voice and the sameness of all their music make for pretty dire listening. And there’s only a handful of bands that can get away with the amount of sickly, power guitar solos that Creed sneak in at every opportunity. Didn’t Poison even copyright that shit?

Vanilla Ice: The Best Of

The theme seems to be that if you know you’re not worthy of having a greatest hits album you call it a Best Of. Don’t be fooled by this, I know it makes you feel like you’re missing out on some of Vanilla’s bests, like really he was a genius with hidden hip hop classics. But, trust me, you’re not.

Blue: Best Of

Their biggest hit is a bad cover of another song and their three albums were all released over three consecutive years, so we’re pretty sure they were not in it for the art. But so as to not scapegoat Blue when so many countless pop acts are guilty of this quick release crime, here are a few other offenders: Jason Donovan, Hilary Duff, Five and Atomic Kitten.

[Originally published in PUB.lication: The Greatest Hits Issue]

Jody Watley’s new album The Makeover is an outstanding set featuring her unique interpretations of some classic and soon-to-be-classic songs, but we wanted to know … what are her favourite makeovers? 

Says Jody:  A makeover completely transforms a song making it unexpected and new again. Here are some of my favourites:

1. Luther Vandross “A House Is Not A Home” (Hall of Fame)

2. Marvin Gaye “Star Spangled Banner”

3. Grace Jones “La Vie En Rose’

4. Maxwell “This Woman’s Work” 

5. Isaac Hayes ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix”

6. Nuyorican Soul “I Am The Black Gold of The Sun” (i’d never known of the rotary connection original)

7. Adele “Make You Feel My Love” (didn’t know it was a Dylan song until she did it)

8. Brand New Heavies With 4Hero “I Don’t Know Why I Love You”

9. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”

10. D’Angelo “Feel Like Making Love”

Great list, Jody

Video-wise,  Jody  continues to fire on all cylinders! Check out a further clip from the album, this time for the killer cut A Beautiful Life :

The Makover is out now.

The Wirk is an internationally known and locally accepted SAP software consultant, sports enthusiast, music lover, amateur photographer, occasional blogger and dear friend to the playa. It was her suggestion that influenced us to blog. She caught last night’s Maxwell gig in London, and has been gracious enough to bless us with her impressions of the show. She stayed up late and filed this post before leaving London for a weekend in Athens. We are grateful and appreciative, as well as indebted to her for taking the time to bring us a little closer to her world, and inspiring us to bring you closer to ours.

insideplaya

While in London WIRKING it, I’d heard that Maxwell would be in town. So, I decided to make some phone calls and check out the internet for more info and tickets. I mentioned it to the insideplaya, and he asked if I’d blog about the show if I went. When he asked, I told him at this rate, “all I’d have to blog about was the parking lot.” He sets me up with a contact at Creative Artists Agency and the next thing you know my tickets are in motion. Awesome!

I get to Brixton and I see it’s a smaller venue. I would expect that for Maxwell. The O2 Academy is similar to a theatre ~ for you, NY’ers think Hammerstein minus the Muppet seats in the wings. When I got to the ticket office the lady asked me if seats were OK, or if I wanted to stand. Um – it’s Maxwell. I want to sit. Plus it’s already 8:15 and the show was supposed to start at 8. Standing would be a nightmare now because all the diehard Maxwell fans have already taken their positions near the stage and let’s face it ~ Maxwell is not gonna play “Get To Know Ya” on REPEAT, so how much dancing is this girl really gonna do?

THE BUILDING (photo by THE WIRK)

I get to my seat and wait… As the time passes, finally a man from London appears and he’s the lucky duck who gets to sit next to me during the show. His name is Sam. Now I know you just said “Sam” in your head as in “Samantha”. Well, if you did that just like I did, you’d be wrong. It’s Sam pronounced as “Psalm”. Fabulous and WHATEVER, but he was nice so we won’t cast any stones.

Psalm and I are ready for the show and Maxwell comes out. There’s a band. Ok. Horns, an organ, etc. The acoustics in the bldg are great and I am excited to hear the man’s voice live. Maxwell sings and it’s amazing. The sound is pure. His falsetto ~ unbelievable. It’s soulful, but LIGHT. It’s sexy, but reserved. It’s the kind of show you can take your mom to… It’s safe.

SAFLEY PUTTING IT DOWN WHILE BEING OBSERVED FROM THE BALCONY (photo by THE WIRK)

I could not wait to hear “Fortunate” and Maxwell did not disappoint. “Pretty Wings” was pretty cool. And “Lifetime” resonates in my head even though the show ended 2 hours ago. I recognize the talent and Maxwell’s voice is distinct to my ear. Music and sports are my life, and my ear is keen to sound. ‘This Woman’s Work” will never sound the same to me, now that I heard the first few notes sung LIVE . I like the range of Maxwell’s sound, it’s soothing and has some semblance of edge ~ but I feel like it lacks some grit. The kind of grit that resonates and make one feel it in their bones. The more I think about it the lines that resonate in my head are the lines that he has to go deeper to make. The whispers of “Fortunate” are nothing without the guttural sounds he makes when he sings lines such as “I’ve never sang a song with all my might”…

Maxwell is comfortable in his sexuality and tries to seduce the crowd with his moves, but he also seems to have a bit of a corny persona as he jumps around the stage… You’re not gonna see him do a huge dance number, and if you want choreography – go see Britney. I’d imagine Maxwell would be the kind of boyfriend who’d be all about backrubs and footrubs… The kind of man that Ralph Tresvant sung about in “Sensitivity”, except Maxwell is collecting checks…

All in all I liked the show, but the words, “soulful, yet light” stick in my head…. And the question, Psalm asked me has me thinking… Psalm asked me, “Whatever happened to D’Angelo?” I repeated the question I got from Psalm to the insideplaya and he didn’t seem surprised. “He knew you’d know,” The playa replied matter of factly. I guess, he’s right. When you’re passionate about things the way I am with music and sports, people feel that energy. That energy comes out of your mouth and through your eyes. Enough about that.

THE BROWN SUGAR MAN

THE AUTHOR

I started thinking about D’Angelo and all the stories I’ve heard and began to draw more comparisons in my head between the two artists. Maxwell is great. D’Angelo is better. Maxwell is who you listen to when your mom is in the car. D’Angelo is who you listen to when you’ve dropped her off. D’Angelo is soulful, but edgier ~ grittier, funkier, and raw. Maxwell is polished and refined. You get Maxwell to come to the front door to meet your dad, before you go on a date w/D’Angelo…

On any given Sunday, Maxwell is an opening act for D’Angelo… And if/when D’Angelo takes the stage ~ this girl isn’t gonna be sitting in the balcony.

The Wirk

was havin me a “How Does it Feel?” a-la-D’Angelo kinda moment, so here’s him with ‘Tip… the more i put my ear to this joint & let the lyrics sink in, the more i’m convinced it’s one of the best new soulfully bumpin “love” songs out there.

(lyrics afta the jump)

…cloud 9…

I believe that’s love, that’s love….  I believe that’s love,  I believe that’s love, that’s love….

uh. of the things we believe
there’s a whole lot of work we should roll up our sleeves
and we got a hold firm when fate’s full like a sieve
why doubt your plans cause when its all worth believing
we can make it work do believe that
we’ve mistrust in the dust and believe fact
we can achieve tact
by tuning out negative feedback
naysayers can hate we concentrate to bring belief back
into ourselves into the world into the rap game
emcees are miserable that means their music’s leaving mikes maimed
man look we holding down for the truth
if we alone in the loop we gone hold for the proof
man put it in believing
believe in believing
seeing ain’t believing its the feeling that we needing
believe in each other put the question to the system
they promising returns then question what you getting
we should believe in the reasons we existing
time for renaissance to reawaken what is with it
belief can confirm make it is what it isn’t
sometimes i wish i had belief when i didn’t

I believe that’s love
I believe that’s love
that’s love

in the land of make belief time to make unbelief believable
take a belief to the realm of the real
believe in this shit that’s force fed through the medium
believe it is real when it’s really a raw deal
never disbelieve when you see human miracle
like ghetto children shining bright in babylon
believe in that don’t believe in stats to the contrary
gotta be weary of them theories carry on
people find belief when they don’t find identity
believe in your friends don’t believe in your enemies
mountains of doubts and disbeliefs right in front of you
troops on the other side what u gone do

OOOH OOOH I BELIEVE-
OOOH THAT’S LOVE THAT’S LOVE
OOOH OOOH I BELIEVE-
OOOH THAT’S LOVE THAT’S LOVE

I BELIEVE LOVE, LOVE

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Been listening to the RH Factor’s Hardgroove quite a bit lately, in particular their cover of Funkadelic’s ‘I’ll Stay’ featuring the one and only D’Angelo.

I hoped to find a video of them performing the track live, however all the videos are without D’Angelo on vocals.

“The fact of the matter remains that I miss The Hypnotic”

I got a little zone out music for everyone this Friday.  I have been listening to Illadelph Halflife since yesterday morning and taking some time to really soak it in again.  The whole album is incredible but I always find myself coming back to The Hypnotic.  My favorite Roots’ joints are the storytelling joints about females.  Black Thought always tells an incredible story.  Whether it’s Silent Treatment, The Hypnotic, You Got Me or Break You Off, those joints are always my personal favorites.  I suggest going back to listening to all The Roots albums in succession and hear the quality and the progression on every single project.  The Roots are one of a kind. Enjoy The Hypnotic as well as the remix featuring D’Angelo and Miss Badu.  Two classic cuts.  I don’t k now what the beat is on the beginning of The Hypnotic but the real song comes on at the 20 second mark.

Angie Stone is on the come back trail. Since Angie was taking some promo pictures, ole girl treated it like a wedding and tightened up her body.

 Angie always been my girl, big or small, my big homie Suggie Otis put me up on her back in the day. What the HELL was D’Angelo smokin??  THINK I NEED SOME CHOCOLATE………..NOW…………….more pics

D'Angelo

When neo soul pioneer D’Angelo gave birth to his acclaimed album Voodoo at the beginning of the millennium, he strove to forge a dramatically divergent path from that of the high-gloss, streamlined, studio-perfected sounds that marked popular music of the day. He turned instead to a bygone age of black music, embracing the gritty, loose and colorful sounds of jazz, soul and funk artists from decades ago.

The result is an album with a decidedly vintage feel that embraces qualities reaching across the spectrum of black music and bears the mark of tropes established as far back as the ring shout traditions of early African-American culture. Chicken Grease (named for a supposedly Prince-coined term that refers to strumming chords in a distinct 16th note pattern [1] ) is a subdued, funky track featuring muffled, overdubbed vocals that sits quietly in the center of Voodoo. However, in a live setting, the tune becomes an animated stomp, building to a dramatic finale, complete with a fiery call-and-response exchange between D’Angelo and his backup singers Angie Stone and Anthony Hamilton.

Timbral distortions abound as D’Angelo moves effortlessly between steady rhythms in the chest register to falsetto shouts. The late Chalmers “Spanky” Alford repeats the simple harmonic figures of the song throughout, alternating stabs and strums of angular triads. The core of song is established via Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson’s syncopated drumming. He is complimented by bassist Pino Palladino, who outlines the harmony by remaining generally “in the pocket,” veering from the groove occasionally to insert tastefully off-beat melodic phrases laced with blue notes.

While Chicken Grease carries no discernable spiritual elements as the ancestral ring shout did, the tropes as they exist in this modern context work to establish a similar sort of communication between participants. Here the audience becomes part of the performance, immersing themselves in the incessant groove, seemingly compelled to stomp and shout in tandem with the musicians. This nearly involuntary reaction to the music suggests that the listeners recognize these tropes on perhaps a subconscious level, driven to reciprocate attributes of the performance because of socially conditioned behavior. Like in ring shout, D’Angelo’s Chicken Grease gives rise to a communal activity, a marriage of song and dance, and here, a frenetic celebration of a shared love of music.

D’Angelo – Chicken Grease (Live at The Chris Rock Show)

[1] To see Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson’s Review of Voodoo click here.

Michael Howard

Or do we need D’Angelo back!?…I remember burning Brown Sugar, his first album -one of my faves- It’s been ten years I think and I’m still patiently waiting for his third album to drop. Still have that crush on him, def my type of dude.

After his show here in September to support the certified Gold album BLACKsummer’snight ,  I was on a high for days.  Maxwell became a “Bad Habit” for me, and especially for the person who accompanied me.  I won’t call names.

A  laundry list of inducements helped this along: his goose bump-raising vocal range, obvious the comparisons to Al Green, Marvin Gaye, and at times, even glimpses of Luther Vandross; the swoon-stirring hip rolls; a band full of accomplished musicians whose crisp accompaniment cloaked the entire arena; a hand touched by him, mine.  This didn’t feel like the obligatory in-line hand dap. Instead, it was a deliberate, firm clasp.  I felt lucky enough to receive, in a small way, confirmation of Maxwell’s genuine warmth and appreciation for the outpouring his audience has shown after nearly a decade out of the music spotlight.

During the show, Maxwell seemed to go out of his way to show his connection to Richmond.   Maxwell beamed about the fact that noted guitarist Wah Wah Watson (Melvin Ragin), has worked with him, from his debut album “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite,” to the current tour.  If you are not familiar with Watson, go back and check the liner notes of albums for artists such as the Jackson 5, Janet Jackson, and the undisputed King of Entertainment, Michael Jackson; Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock and many more.   Though the bio circulated on the Internet reports that Watson is a native of Detroit, he was introduced as a native of Richmond, VA during the tour.

When Maxwell opened the show in Richmond, his band didn’t signal his entrance with one of his own hits such as “ ‘Til the Cops Come Knockin’.”  This wasn’t unusual, because during the tour, it became a ritual for Maxwell to ask on Twitter for local audience members to suggest a song by an artist native to that city.

It was the choice of artists that was significant.  Maxwell chose a song by fellow R&B and Neo Soul artist, and Richmond native, D’Angelo for the opening.    The song “Lady” played over the Richmond Coliseum’s sound system.   For a moment, the spotlight was on D’Angelo as the audience swayed to the pulsating bass and his falsetto proclamations.  In that moment, Maxwell was more like the “Godfather of Neo Soul” paving the way for D’Angelo’s return.

Reportedly, D’Angelo, the two-time Grammy winner, is working on a follow up to his album “Voodoo.”  The project is tentatively entitled “James River.”  With Maxwell aiming the spotlight back in D’Angelo’s direction, the soul music scene (which has been bolstered by artists such as Jill Scott, Erykah Badu and Me’Shell NdegéOcello) real soul music might just be back to reclaim its place.

After the Richmond show, Maxwell said on Twitter “I LOVE you RICHMOND i LOVE you VIRGINIA… you make me MORE.”  Maybe Richmond is a good luck charm of sorts to Maxwell.   Soon after his show in Richmond, he made Billboard History by having the #1 and #2 song on Adult Contemporary Billboard charts.

I’m just returning home from a road trip, where I saw his concert for a second time in Baltimore, Maryland.  As wonderful as Maxwell was in the U.S. tour closer, there is nothing like being in your hometown, having an artist of his caliber show love for your city and its artists.   Its a city that is almost always mocked in this regard when compared to the likes of New York City, Chicago or Los Angeles.

So, come on Maxwell.  There’s a nice quiet place for you in Richmond when you need a break from the wild ride, called your career.

After all, the state slogan is “Virginia is For Lovers.”    “For Lovers Only,” Max.

AK~

Muzyka popularna zawsze pełna była  falseciarzy. Wypełniali wszystkie jej rejony, nawet takie, które dziś awansowały na półkę kultury wysokiej (czyli takiej, której zwolennicy lubią czuć się wyżsi od innych). Przykładem jest tu nie tylko Farinelli, bohater słynnego filmu Gérarda Corbiau o ostatnim kastracie, ale i rzesza facetów wydających z siebie piski niewymuszone operacyjnie (mężczyźni mogą zbliżyć się jedynie do altu, najniższego głosu kobiecego).

Zostawiając już na boku odcięte narządy płciowe, które i tak męczyć nas będą, przybrawszy formę freudowskich kompleksów, zróbmy krótki przegląd współczesnych muzyków “śpiewających cienko”. Bo falset to tak na prawdę ciężka praca. Etymologicznie pochodzi od włoskiego słowa “falso” (fałszywy) i realizowany jest poprzez silne napięcie strun głosowych, co wymaga niezłego treningu. Odliczamy dziesięciu naszych ulubionych falseciarzy:

10. Mika – Młody półlibańczyk, który swoimi chwytliwymi melodiami i głosem przypominającym wymuszającego uwagę dzieciaka, podbił popowy świat.

9.  Justin Hawkins – romansujący z dramatycznymi dźwiękami opery i histerycznie uwielbiający wszelkie wydania Glam Metalu, charyzmatyczny wokalista The Darkness.

8. Frankmusik – falset z pomocą elektroniki. Niedawno w Łodzi na Venie na bis zaśpiewał “It’s a Sin” Pet Shop Boysów.

7. Antony Hegarty – głos drżący z niepewności, a jednocześnie bardzo czysty, mocny i pewny.

6. Russell Mael – młodszy z braci Sparks, którzy już blisko 40 lat raczą nas swoimi pstrymi hymnami i wciąż wychodzi im to świetnie.

5. Jake Shears ze Scissor Sisters – disco falset – czasem campowy, czasem wzruszający, ale zawsze gorgeous.

4. Andy Bell z Erasure – pionier pełnego emocji ostentacyjnego falsetu lat 80.

3. D’Angelo – były chłopak Angie Stone z wielkim talentem w pięknej piosence ze świetnym teledyskiem.

2. Maximilian Hecker – niemiecki wokalista, eks-model, melancholik. Szkoda, że tak słabo znany.

1. Klaus Nomi – falset pierwszej klasy. Przeszywający operowy głos, połączony z wykreowaną w stylu marsjańsko-kabuki personą Klausa Divy, wciska w fotel.

by: Maria Durska, Adam Kruk 2009

An amazing artist gifted with an undeniable talent, I could only hope  he gets through everything-rehab, drugs, alcohol- and puts out some new music soon.He still has fans who love and remember him.Come back D’angelo, people love you!

DOWNLOAD: Chris P “Smack Your Ass, Pull Your Hair“

A beat tape using all D’Angelo samples.  Seems simple enough.  I don’t know who the producer is (cause I’d like to link to his myspace/facebook page).  I have yet to listen It’s OK, it has its moments, but I thought I’d throw this up there for y’all to check out.  In principle, the idea sounds like it could be real funky.  This of course coming from a person who loves listening to random beat tape and instrumental albums. Here are some words from the producer:

i’ve worked on this since 2000.

35 beats total.

i only cheated three times: 1 prince sample and 1 digital underground sample (both to enhance the particular beat), and ?uest’s drums from erykah’s “booty” on two beats. other than that, it’s ALL d’angelo samples.

i left everything raw and jagged with some scattered effects. i did a more polished mix (with lots of compression, eq, fx, etc.), but the raw shit was just more dynamic.

i used all original source CD’s, LPs, 12″s, and CDQ bootlegs. and the “smile” remake on itunes.

i tried to incorporate EVERYTHING d’-related, but i didn’t use “water no get enemy” and some of the misc rap features.

done out of 100% love for d’s music.

Perusing the calendar, I was shocked to realise that the current decade — what some people call the “Noughties” — is almost over; that we’re about to start the 2010s. And here I am still getting used to the idea of the new millennium. So, with this decade coming to an end soon, it seems right to review my top 10 albums of this period. I’ll try to avoid joining the critical consensus (which probably agrees on albums I either never heard of or don’t like), and obviously I can’t list albums I don’t have. So, no Kid A here.

* * *

1. Johnny Cash – American III: Solitary Man

It’s not necessarily the best album in Cash’s American series, but probably the only one that’ll top one of my annual charts. It certainly is a fine album, with an astute song selection (no peculiar choices such as Personal Jesus, which appeared on the follow-up). Cash had previously taken a Sting song, Hung My Head, and entirely appropriated it, leaving Sting’s original sound like a pale, inadequate and ill-advised cover version by an inferior hack. Here Cash repeats the trick with One, lending gravitas to a song that in Bono’s hands sounds overwrought (Bono really meant it, man). But it is what Cash and producer Rick Rubin do with Nick Cave’s The Mercy Seat that blows me away. For this album, Rubin roped in a few heavy-hitters, including Tom Petty and Will Oldham. I’m not sure it was necessary to do so.
Johnny Cash – One.mp3
Johnny Cash – The Mercy Seat.mp3

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2. D’Angelo – Voodoo

After 2000, I began falling off Planet Soul. Voodoo was the genre’s last high-water mark, even if the likes of india.arie, Erykah Badu and (to some extent) Alicia Keys proceeded to release decent albums (and I suppose John Legend isn’t bad either, even though I own nothing by the man). Before too long, it became a law that soul singers must have uniformly nasal, almost pre-pubescent voices and sing about sex a lot without projecting any confidence that they really know what to do in the sack. D’Angelo, on the other hand, left us in no doubt that he knew exactly how to create a concerto of orgasms.

In terms of soul, D’Angelo fused all that came before, plus a strong dose of hip hop and a shot of Hendrix in one album, creating a whole new, exciting and intensely sexual sound. It had taken him five years to follow up the gorgeous Brown Sugar, and I believe a new album is imminent. Whatever happened before or will happen, Voodoo is Michael Archer’s masterpiece. Had Marvin Gaye lived, this is what he’d have sounded like.
D’Angelo – Untitled (How Does It Feel).mp3

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3. Elliot Smith – Figure 8

Smith’s final album in his lifetime — he died three years later — may not be his best, but even then, it is lovely and affecting. It could have done with some trimming, and the cover is unattractive. You don’t pick up an Elliot Smith album to cheer you up, but the charge of miserablism often levelled against seems unfair to me. There is beauty in Smith’s sadness — made all the more poignant by his apparent suicide (there are theories that Smith didn’t actually kill himself). We owe Smith a huge voter of thanks for his part in inspiring so many of the great acoustic artists that emerged in (and, perhaps, from) his wake.
Elliott Smith – Somebody That I Used To Know.mp3

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4. Colin Hay – Going Somewhere

The solo albums of the former Men At Work frontman tend to be frustrating; amid the near-perfect gems there is so much indifferent filler material. Best, really, to put together one’s own compilation. But then one would not find that some of the mediocre stuff is actually pretty good, but required a few more listens. Going Somewhere does not suffer from this. It is one of two albums on which Hay re-recorded his better songs and a couple of new ones, here mostly acoustically. And it works wonderfully. Highlights include opener Beautiful World (which features the brilliant line “where a man can still be free — or a woman if you are one”), I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You, Looking For Jack (about an encounter with Mr Nicholson), Waiting For My Real Life To Begin and Lifeline.
Colin Hay – Lifeline.mp3

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5. Jill Sobule – Pink Pearl

Sobule kissed a girl and liked it long before Katy Perry did so — and Sobule meant it. Sobule is an engaging lyricist dealing with often unexpected subject matter, ranging from anorexia to the case of a teacher who had sex with her pupil. In turn she can be insightful, funny, ironic, cute, tender and daring. Her music is neither particularly challenging nor bland, and some of the tracks on Pink Pearl are excellent, especially the Bacharach-via-Spektor-sounding Rainy Day Parade. But it’s for the lyrics that I return to it. This, from the also outstanding One Of These Days, always makes me laugh: “One of these days I’m gonna touch the sky. Like that awful song ‘I Believe I Can Fly’, [pause for effect] I believe I can fly.” Download free Jill Sobule tracks from her website
Jill Sobule – Rainy Day Parade.mp3

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6. Lewis Taylor – Lewis II

I’ve read that Lewis Taylor has retired from the music business because his albums didn’t sell. That is a pity. Lewis II (which, you will have worked out, was his sophomore album, following the more psychedelic self-titled debut) is a likeable soulful and funky effort. When white soulsters arrive on the scene, they tend to be matched with their likely influences, invariably from the ’60s and ’70s (usually Curtis Mayfield with a bit of Motown). London-born Taylor escaped such labelling, or at least its accurate application. He drew from the treasury of soul through the ages and created his own unique sound. The album features a fine cover of Jeff Buckley’s Everybody Here Wants You.
Lewis Taylor – The Way You Done Me.mp3

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7. K’s Choice – Almost Happy

In my view, Almost Happy is the Belgian brother-and-sister act’s best album. The title track and Another Year are most affecting, beautiful songs dipped in sadness but not despondency. Both of these, and other K’s Choice songs, find an echo in the music of the wonderful Weepies (another female/male singing and songwriting combo). The stand-out track is the almost gothic (though not goth) Shadowman, a song about depression.
K’s Choice – Shadowman.mp3

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8. Ben Kweller – Freak Out…It’s Ben Kweller

I know, EPs aren’t albums. But I’m not going to list my favourite EPs of the decade (hmmm, or maybe I should), so Ben Kweller’s debut on disc gets in. And what a debut it was. The stand-out track here is In Other Words, which features a few duff lines (including references to passive-aggressive butterflies) but has a tune and, especially, an arrangement that one might not expect from an 18-year-old. The piano and banjo interplay in the song’s climax is exquisite. Kweller later re-recorded In Other Words, as well as the brief How It Should Be (Sha Sha), for his first full album, 2002’s Sha Sha. Both songs are superior on this eight-song EP.
Ben Kweller – In Other Words.mp3

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9. Richard Ashcroft – Alone With Everybody

I’d include this for Brave New World alone. And I‘ll cheerfully admit that I don’t really like about half of this album. But the other half is better than most music he created with the Verve. From his former group, we knew Ashcroft was rather given to kitchen-sink productions, and there’s little here that could be described as sparse (quite in contrast to Elliott Smith). At times the onslaught of instrumentation is sumptuous, at other times one yearns for some respite. Not a great album, but one with great moments. I’d recommend You On My Mind In My Sleep, A Song For Lovers and On A Beach; and strongly advise against Money To Burn, which I think was the lead single.
Richard Ashcroft – Brave New World.mp3

10. Badly Drawn Boy – The Hour Of The Bewilderbeest

The album title merely hints at the punnery Damon Gough engages in here. I like the wordplay in Badly Drawn Boy’s lyrics, even if I find them unnecessary in songtitles (Everybody’s Stalking!). Like almost any studio double album (and how audacious to release a double album on debut), there is a lot of unnecessary music here, and the brief interludes are annoying. But in the day of WinAmp, one can happily re-sequence an album according to one’s tastes. And doing so with this set is a very rewarding experience.
Badly Drawn Boy – The Shining.mp3

DOWNLOAD: Stuart Zender “They So Cold” AZUR

Formally of the wonderful funk band Jamiroquai, bass player Stuart Zender created his solo album AZUR (as you are).  Unfortunately the album was shelved by Virgin Records and it never quite saw the light of day.  ”They So Cold” is from that album, and it’s been rumored that D’Angelo is singing back up or playing keys on this song.  Who knows.  If you visit his website, you can hear an interesting interview that talks about what he’s been doing since AZUR dropped, and info on his new release Running Out Of Heroes.

Whilst driving alllll the way to bristol… for my trials … Which were of course succesfull

I went thru a couple of albums on my ipod…
* Ginuwine – touch me
* All Alicia Keys Albums **OF COURSE I AM THE BIGGEST FAN**
* Estelle – more than friends
* Latif – without you
* Donell Jones – my apology
* Movado
* & More

Well tracks i had on repeat… just cos they brought back memories… were…

This song Will always bring me back Happy Memories of me and My Ex Troy even tho he dumped me i will always have the jorney to the o2 in mind… cuddles and kisses …

Shame im too ugly for him… maybe i should say i broke my face like kesh…??? But soon… He we relise what he has lost. **iHope

Some Ginuwine – Touch Me of his new album…
Oh yeahhh… i know who this goes out to…:) SNM
((this song got repeated the chorus is so catchy))

WOW… BODY… nothink that a bag cant fixx… LOL.. but the gap tooth is cute. Need to find me a body like this…

All time classic some LATIF… I also need to find a guy who is going to sing to me LOL

The first time I heard D’Angelo was during my spring break in ‘95. I was half-watching a video show on BET called In Your Ear, when the video for “Brown Sugar” came on. On my first listen, I didn’t even know he was talkin’ about weed, but I liked that song. The following weekend, I called my favorite record store asking if they had it, and they didn’t even know what I was referring to. By the weekend after that, not only did they know exactly what I was asking about, but it was already sold out.

D’Angelo was a unique artist when he came out with “Brown Sugar” and the album of the same name. His sound wasn’t really like the “traditional” R&B, but it also didn’t sound like the Hip-Hop-inspired R&B that was all over the place by then. Around ‘95, there weren’t many people making 100% organic music and still appealing to the people my age. As much of an enthusiast as I am about the decade, the ’90s weren’t exactly the time for instrumentation in comparison to previous decades. That was more of a “mature” sound if anything, and it was almost considered to be like jazz. Minus a couple of exceptions, most of that kinda stuff wasn’t flyin’ with the youngins unless it had a remix.

But with D’Angelo’s music, it had a more current style that wasn’t so far out of the box that it got overlooked. I even knew people who didn’t like much R&B, but did like Brown Sugar. It was a new thing that was later called Neo-Soul, but at the moment was just good music in its own space. Artists like Maxwell and Erykah Badu followed, and while they did it on their merit, I can say that the success of D’Angelo likely opened that lane for them to get the airplay and exposure that they got. Had he flopped, their spots could’ve easily gone to whomever was doing their best R. Kelly impression at the time.

By journalists, D’Angelo was seen as a combination of other great artists before him, and even as a successor to Prince. Not sure if that was a lot of pressure for him (although it probably was), but he ended up becoming more and more scarce as the ’90s continued on. With the talents he had, he was also more intense when it came to his music being on-point. While others with about half the talent were out there on a regular basis, D’Angelo took all the time he needed and wanted. When he finally did follow up with Voodoo, it was an album that kinda went two ways- some loved it, some hated it. It ended up getting consumed by two things: the fact that it wasn’t as accessible as Brown Sugar and a video that overshadowed his musical intentions.

It’s been almost 10 years since D’Angelo’s last complete piece of work, and R&B is even further from its core than he thought it was back then. To a degree, I wouldn’t even say he’s made for this era. He was an artist who studied all the greats and incorporated their influence into his music, whereas most of the interest as of late has been in making a hot record for this month. Of course, he’s also been sidetracked by “other” stuff, which makes the chances of another album even more unlikely. There’s been one promised for years, but I’m not sure I’d bet money on it coming out.

Much like Lauryn Hill, I think it’s safe to say D’Angelo’s absence has been brought on by both his own personal issues and music industry issues. Sucks too, because those first couple years seemed like the beginning of some epic shit.

“Brown Sugar” (1995)

“Cruisin’” (1995)

“She’s Always In My Hair” (1997)

“Devil’s Pie” (1998)

“Untitled (How Does It Feel)” (1999)

-D!

Il Presidente del Comitato di Indirizzo Riserva Naturale Regionale Sentina, Dr. Pietro D’Angelo, fa sapere che sabato 17 ottobre, alle ore 11.00, la Riserva Sentina insieme alla Capitaneria di Porto di S.Benedetto del Tronto e alla Fondazione Cetacea Onlus di Riccione, organizzeranno una iniziativa di natura ambientale, che avverrà presso il Porto di S.Benedetto e precisamente all’ingresso della Capitaneria, lato mare.

Si tratta della liberazione in mare di 8 tartarughe marine (Caretta caretta) trovate lungo il litorale adriatico e curate dalla Fondazione Cetacea. Una delle 8 è la tartaruga rinvenuta alcune settimane fa lungo la spiaggia della Riserva Sentina. L’iniziativa ha una notevole valenza didattica tanto che saranno presenti alcune classi delle scuole primarie dei circoli didattici sambenedettesi.

Il personale della Fondazione Cetacea provvederà a illustrare ai presenti le caratteristiche della specie e l’importanza che riveste nell’ecosistema marino; il tutto sarà fatto con l’ausilio di materiale didattico specifico come carapaci, modelli di tartarughe e altro. Dopo la manifestazione, il personale specializzato provvederà alla liberazione degli esemplari in mare aperto, con una motovedetta della Capitaneria di Porto. Chiunque abbia interesse verso l’argomento potrà partecipare all’evento. (Fonte: ilquotidiano.it)