does the strut give a damn that d'angelo is back?

SIRUS

dude is still doing his jb/prince pastiche. i'm not mad at it. curious if all the 80's babies will support when the album drops.
supposedly he spent the last 12 yrs learning guitar. (and picking up prostitutes.)

Bon Vivant

I'll take a listen.

Hotsauce84

I'm not super duper excited for it, but I won't give it the ol' Batmon brush off either.

I just hope he stays clean.

batmon

1995. Stop.

parallax

I'm mildly curious and wouldn't expect anything groundbreaking. Chances are I'll be sleeping.

Kindly,
parallax

parallax

Le double

jaymack

batmon said:

1995. Stop.

I just got dizzy thinking about just how close to 20 years ago that is.

Big_Chan

SIRUS said:

supposedly he spent the last 12 yrs drinking and doing heroin (and picking up prostitutes.)

m_dejean

Just waking up now from last night's D'Angelo show here (CPH). I got the tickets for free, and I had no expectations whatsoever.

Verdict: pretty damn good.

His voice is strong as ever and the band was great. The performance was heavy on the black rock + prince influence. Lots of instrumental passages and experimental arrangements. They did a sick version of Parliament "I've Been Watching You (Move Your Sexy Body)" and "Brown Sugar" got turned into a "Housequake"-style uptempo jam.

He didn't pull a crowd-pleasing "greatest hits" show (no "Lady" and "Me And Those Dreamy Eyes Of Mine"), which I wasn't mad at. I thought people expecting suave boom-clack neo-soul from start to finish would find it too experimental and heavy on the guitars. Everyone I spoke to after the show were happy though.

New songs sound good, but it's hard to gauge from a live show. I guess the coming album will be the real "he's back" litmus test, but there's no doubt that he can bring it live.

Unherd

batmon said:

1995. Stop.

Every year that goes by, it gets harder to argue with you about this.

OptimusLime

Seeing him tonight, it'll be interesting. Will report back tomorrow.

batmon

Unherd said:

batmon said:

1995. Stop.

Every year that goes by, it gets harder to argue with you about this.

lets say 2000 since thats when voodoo came out. twelve years later??? And voodoo had a long burn too.

HarveyCanal

Never really cared much to begin with. Dude IMO is just a mumbly, overextended hook waiting for rap verses that never come. It's always more pose than music with D'Angelo.

Junior

I can't wait to hear his verses on Detox.

Tabasko

Tabasko

Tuff_Gong

I'll care once there's some new studio tracks to listen to. A bunch of low quality YouTube videos from European shows doesn't get me that excited. Yeah, if you're a D'Angelo fan it's good that he's doing *anything* at this point, but I'm not in Europe and it isn't live stuff I'm caring about.

RAJ

Tuff_Gong said:

I'll care once there's some new studio tracks to listen to. A bunch of low quality YouTube videos from European shows doesn't get me that excited. Yeah, if you're a D'Angelo fan it's good that he's doing *anything* at this point, but I'm not in Europe and it isn't live stuff I'm caring about.

Unherd

I heard you guys like D'angelo live tracks.



Here you go

Flomotion

Friends who went to the London show last week said he was fantastic.

OptimusLime

Saw him in Amsterdam, he cancelled first, which was nice of him. Then he played thursday instead of monday and I have to say he was spectacular. Made a bunch of songs really long nice drawn out jams, and then sat at the piano by himself and went through most of Voodoo and Brown sugar in like 20 mins. Also he relied on the audience to sing a long to almost everything. I'm a massive fan of Voodoo (still listen to it weekly) but i don't know any of the words, it appears no one else does either so that was a bit of a shame.

Ended the night on a LONG ass version of Brown Sugar and groundcontrol to Major Tom.

Overall great show. Channeled Prince through most of it, but ended on a more James Brown type steez.
Loved it, new songs sounded good. Hope he brings out an album soon.

SIRUS

disco_che

That "Sugar Daddy" track sounded nice. I'll be looking out for the new album.

m_dejean

Tuff_Gong said:

I'll care once there's some new studio tracks to listen to.

Sooo......


http://www.complex.com/music/2014/12/dangelo-and-the-vanguard-black-messiah-stream

DocMcCoy

There's a new Lito today (two, if you count that Theories mixtape) and a new Gates, so those are at the top of the pile right now, but I'm looking forward to hearing this. The studio version of Sugah Daddy dropped yesterday, and my first impressions were, "this sounds like mid-90s D'Angelo with the sonics of 'Revolver'" - I was expecting to like it, but I was taken a little by surprise at just how much I did.

Jimster

Looking forward to hearing it, thanks m_dejean for the link.

Interesting artist, certainly not from the R&B cookie-cutter.

Like everyone in 1995, I loved the debut. He seemed to have the world at his feet.

Then when I first span "Voodoo", I was left wondering
"Where are the songs?"

But something must have sunk in, because I kept coming back to it and finding more and more moments to like. I now think, sonically, it's masterful and has his best vocals. The layering is sublime. It's a much deeper set all round.

I guess I had underestimated him completely, I would have been content with more of the same. I can't believe I'd dismissed it so flippantly on the first spin. I concur that a lot of the lyrical delivery barely makes it over the net in terms of comprehension, but they still imply what he wants you to feel, so they are perfect for my money. There is some real testifying going on.

There were some demos kicking around for "Voodoo" where it's just him sat at a piano discussing ideas for each tune. "Africa" from this set just slays it for me. Truly beautiful keys and voice, sounding effortless.

Regarding his time off the radar, I hadn't factored in his ability to question his output, or to derail himself. I remember reading an interview with ?uest who was talking about his time on tour with D'Angelo and about how disillusioned with the business he'd become, because it seemed all people wanted was for him to rip his shirt off.

I am glad he takes it seriously and hope he has got himself together.












If he's covering "Happy", on some "Minion" shit, I'm slitting my wrists.

DocMcCoy

First impressions: if you miss Lewis Taylor, this is the record for you.

white_tea

DL'd it. First run through: Good, not a revelation and not a comeback on the level of, say, Portishead's Third - something that could meet and exceed expectations growing over a decade+ layoff after a masterpiece. That said, production super interesting if not a bit more "thin" than I would have expected - Revolver seems an apt comparison. "Back to the Future (Part 1)" is transcendentally good. Very glad to be able to listen to this album and happy for D'Angelo.

DJ_Enki

HarveyCanal said:

Never really cared much to begin with. Dude IMO is just a mumbly, overextended hook waiting for rap verses that never come. It's always more pose than music with D'Angelo.

THANK YOU

asstro

Just listened to it, pretty underwhelming on the first go 'round. I'm sure I'll give it another chance, but I was hoping for something I'd want to replay instantly. Not the case.

LaserWolf

Dude writes great songs. Is charismatic. A performer. And an engaging singer.

I am hoping he delivers, and people respond.

Saw him back in the day.

b/w

Was very disappointed that I heard about this for days on other sites before it got mentioned here. Soulstrut used to be where I first heard about everything. From earthquakes to new releases.