Okay. I was ready to dislike this album until the 9th song. 9, 10 and 11 make the album worth owning to me. I don't love it though. It has Amy Wineshouse Syndrome. I never got all the hoopla over her because what she's done has been done already and better. Saadiq's voice is damn near unrecognizable and I wonder why he chose to do an album like this one. And Joss Stone?

It is cool that a classic sound can be reproduced and makes me wonder why the acts of the 50's and 60's didn't continue with the forumal or even try to make something like this album today.

Stymie said:

After listening to this CD,I now think that many artists should just go retro Forget about trying to compete with today's shit hop sounds.Go back to making REAL MUSIC! 'The Way I See It' is familiar-sounding,yet also refreshing to hear.Retro is the way to go!!

SoulAlive said:

Yeah but I got retro already. I want something new and fresh and GOOD.

Stymie said:

were/are you one of the van hunt opposers?

SirPsycho said:

Nope, I have all the Van Hunt stuff.

Stymie said:

aint that new fresh and good enough?

SirPsycho said:

I live on music. I cannot live on Van alone.

Stymie said:

well said...in that case how eclectic are you?

SirPsycho said:

I listen to pretty much everything from Lit to NIN to Parliament Funkadelic to Dr. Dre. The only genre I haven't been able to get into is classical.

Stymie said:

have you heard beck's new album yet?

SirPsycho said:

No i haven't and I almost bought it Saturday.

Stymie said:

very good

SirPsycho said:

Is it? Cool. i'll pick it up.

Stymie said:

Amy Winehouse syndrome ... Ralph has been doing this before Amy even thought about singing. He was retro back in '88.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Yeh I know but it's a whole album of retro.

This track would fit perfectly with the album

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Hell, the Tony's first hit was based on a negro spiritual (Wade In The Water). I don't know if you can get more retro than that.

Retro is good He's going back to an era of real instruments,real songwriting and real lyrics.

the track with Joss Stone is heavenly It should be a single!

Weird Fact ...


"The Way I See It" (19 Pop) actually charted higher than not only "Instant Vintage" (25 Pop) but all of his Tony! Toni! Tone releases "Sons of Soul" being their best at (24 Pop.)


I say it's weird because it's getting no radio play, (haven't heard "Love That Girl" on Magic 102 yet here in Houston and have only seen the video twice on TV)

LittleBLUECorvette said:

He's been doing lots of concerts around the country. Also, VH-1 Soul has been promoting the HELL out of it. It is also getting airplay on XM's Suite 62.

Not many local stations have added the song in rotation. I noticed that the spin count is low as well as the number of adds.

I'm glad that this CD is finding an audience,even though radio isn't playing the single.

SoulAlive said:

Yes me too! Though I'm a fan of his, I would love for his music & videos to be heard more often but like u r saying, he has quite a loyal fan base anyway. So I guess it doesn't make a difference.

I bought the album the week it was released. I was never really a TTT fan though. I got into Raphael's solo albums after he made a name for himself as a producer.

edit: And Lucy Pearl too. I liked that album a lot.
[Edited 9/29/08 9:21am]

sextonseven said:

yeah Lucy Pearl was a good album too. That album was the soundtrack of my senior year in high school...I played that album out!!!

sextonseven said:

I'm basically the opposite. I loved 3T, but I have yet to really get into his solo stuff. Lucy Pearl was OK to me, but not as good as the sum of its parts.

AlexdeParis said:

Man, we must be lost brothers. I feel the same way about Raphael's solo work. I thought it was all "good", but nothing to write home about. I liked the Lucy Pearl project....especially when I heard "Dance Tonight". When I got the cd, I was not impressed. I, again, thought it was just "good".

Now, I was a big TTT fan. Sons of Soul was probably my favorite (if I had to pick a project).

As for this new project, I am really enjoying it. It sounds like Raphael finally figured out the path he wanted to take. He left the 70s-vibe alone and drew from the 60s. I really like the way he used his arrangements on this album as well as the engineering. Great work.

The production is really tight, great sound.

This album is hands down this best joint Ive heard all year. Raphael is usually hit or miss, loved some singles but never liked his albums all that much. This is so smoothe.

Like someone said before, my mom is gonna love this shit.