Debut LP's That Weren't All That Impressive
pickwick33
8,946 Posts
For all the golden greats who didn't get it right the first time!WarPresenting Isaac HayesBrown Sugar - D'AngeloAll By Myself - Eddie KendricksBlack HeatHeart & Soul - Lorraine EllisonRaspberriesStrangers - Merle HaggardADD ON!
Comments
Though I'm probably in the minority here, I actually enjoyed D'Angelo's first album more than Voodoo.
with a couple of cool tracks, but their second
one, Evolutions, is fantastic.
Also in garage, I'm tempted to say the Music Machine,
as the first LP has a bunch of awful covers as filler,
while the second LP is all originals, all killer -
but the first one does have enough quality to make
it worth owning, no doubt.
By the way, I like that Eddie Kendricks record alot.
"Voodoo" might have been the better album, but I enjoyed "Brown Sugar," period.
"Voodoo" might have been the better album, but I enjoyed "Brown Sugar," period.
Brown Sugar had the better remixes, no question.
I guess a true matter of opinion, and there was no way of knowing what was to come, even if it was a so called masterpiece of the time... in hindsight, later works proved to be more memorable and musically grown. I guess it depends on how much a group evolved and how long they were around too. That could be said about a lot of pop groups that went psychedelic, and I suppose real funky soul lovers could say the same about a lot of Jazz, Soul and R&B dudes. Curtis maybe, miles perhaps? I guess Im saying it is hard imagine a first impression if you weren't there from the git. Or maybe I am over thinking it. But growth and timelessness seems to make the beginning sometimes seem less punchy and kind of stale.....at least in the big picture.
But then again, there are some acts who seemingly shot their wad on album #1, or took a hard turn in another direction.
I'm sure many will disagree, but both the Mothers of Invention's and Neko Case's debut albums were better than anything (I've heard) that came later.
Brown Sugar had the better remixes, no question.
I guess. Remixes, shemixes - never made much of a difference to me.
I guess my bias is probably due to the fact that I am not a fan of contemporary R&B, and Voodoo sounded like D'Angelo was trying to get as far from that as possible. Brown Sugar, on the other hand, sounded just like all those other Smoove B love-man types that were out back then (or right now??), and I couldn't see why people thought he was so damn special. The only reason he was on my radar at all was because I was working at a record store when that came out, and my coworkers played that CD day in and day out.
I guess. Remixes, shemixes - never made much of a difference to me.
I guess my bias is probably due to the fact that I am not a fan of contemporary R&B, and Voodoo sounded like D'Angelo was trying to get as far from that as possible. Brown Sugar, on the other hand, sounded just like all those other Smoove B love-man types that were out back then (or right now??), and I couldn't see why people thought he was so damn special. The only reason he was on my radar at all was because I was working at a record store when that came out, and my coworkers played that CD day in and day out.
What?!
I love a good remix, you are sleeping if you aren't checkin' for remixes.
Hey, moderator, where's that "I Ain't Into That" emoticon? (((grin)))
Well, as I said up there, I am not a fan of modern R&B (from the disco era onwards), so remixes never really existed in my world.
Heh, heh - later for this remix shit, I prefer the days when it was just "Part One" and "Part Two," or the short 45 version vs. the long LP version, not "Chuck's Mocha Latte Coolout Club Remix."
Not to make this a D'Angelo thread but,
People like Voodoo more than Brown Sugar??
To my ears, Voodoo is way too jammy, and while I got love for Premo, Red and Meth, I dont really need to hear them on a D'Angelo album imo.
Also, I'll add 2pac to the list....
Hip Hop remixes?
Hello?!
Hip-hop? Goodbye...
Most of my favourite "indie rock" (whatever) bands were also late bloomers, their best work IMO took them awhile. See: Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, My Bloody Valentine.
my vote...
Alicia Keys first joint isnt that impressive as a whole.
I'm not saying it was bad, but that first Replacements LP (Sorry, Ma...) coulda been any random, undistinguished hardcore band...
if you had a girl ,you would enjoy brown sugar on Loop
I have to disagree - I think it stands out with their own
unique style, the sort of childish irreverence that marked
most of their early releases ... which makes sense since they
were like 15 years old ...
Little Feat
I can't think of many soul acts I put on this list. There was a time I would say Aretha Franklin but I like her early stuff more and more every day. If this keeps up Atlantic hits will be below Columbia hits for me.
I'm betting there are scores of jazz artists who would fit nicely in this thread, but I'm not sure what their first lps were. I know that Miles, Adderley, Brubeck, Joe Pass, Grant Green... best stuff was not their first.
Even though I love Stevie his early stuff is a mixed bag.
- spidey
same with the first organized.
I don't think this was his first release, there was an album with a studio version of fingertips that (maybe) pre-dates this. and yeah that album sucks.
But that live one is nice to me.
yikes
fugees
some might say:
southernplayalistic
but not me
I know you care about different versions of songs pickwick- just because you are loud and proud with your bias against rapp/twelve-inches/etc don't let that cloud your opinion too much... there was a number of classic singles off Brown Sugar and the remixes played a part in that
I thought Voodoo was the absolute shit when it dropped, but in retrospect its stoned, sterile vibe (blame Questlove) is kinda snoozy overall... while it has its standouts, the first alb definitely has more memorable tracks IMO (and doesn't sound like much else of its era either - you do know Smooth B was a rapper, right?)
I guess I liked Voodoo because it reminded me, in spirit, of Edwin Birdsong or Shuggie Otis or some other experimental soul guy from the seventies. I'd throw Sly's Riot LP in there too. I'll admit to liking Dudley Perkins for similar reasons.
You do know I was talking about SMOOVE B, right? > Google him. (He's on Wikipedia, as well.)
Smoove B is this fictional columnist in the Onion whose articles are always sweet-talking some lady he's trying to get into bed with. And his sentences all read like a Keith Sweat lyric or something.
If Voodoo had come out as originally intended I might feel a little differently about it - I heard a demo tape while it was still under construction that opened with an excerpt from a Hendrix show and contained an in-progress cover of Fela's "Water No Get Enemy" (which was apparently aborted cuz Lauryn Hill was supposed to contribute a verse and had never heard of him! he did a little rap on the tape where he was instructing Lauryn to put her verse down)
That song where they rip off Kool & the Gang's "Sea of Tranquility" is great though
??? They were basically contemporaries !
Wait a minute - she had never heard of D'Angelo (which I don't believe) or she hadn't heard of Fela?