getfunked said:

coltrane3 said:

Is anyone else having a lukewarm reaction to this? I mean, it's completely fine and pleasant but the lead up was that it was somehow otherworldy, and for me it's just not. And I loved his first two albums.

What is it about D'Angelo? Whenever it's even hinted that he's going to release something people freak out and act like it's going to be the best music ever made and that music will be saved.

Again, this was fine. I do really like "Charade" and the album closer "Another Life." "Betray My Heart" was a little piece of jaunty fun.

The rest seems one-note. Repetitive vamping in nearly every song. I don't know. Everyone was waiting for this? I would have rather had a Maxwell album if I had to choose.

Ok, can we agree on a few things?

1. Due to whatever sort of stuff influences what's going on in the brain, we can see that people are influenced/caused to like different albums, song, types of music, musicians, etc. to varying degree.

2. Sometimes people can get excited for something, a lot, especially if they're happy to know that thing is coming.

3. Sometimes more than one or two people get excited for a thing, leading to a widespread collective excitement for said thing.

Now, what's the problem here? It just seems like you're surprised by the idea that any group of people can get hugely excited over something you yourself don't particularly like. I don't mean to compel you or anyone else to like the album any more or less. I just mean that, the discussion you're trying to start, which has been repeated again and again and again so many times till exhaustion, is just futile and pointless.

Someones a Star Trek fan

https://twitter.com/RussE...1091432448

#BlackMessiah is #1 in 20 countries and top 10 in another 15 countries on itunes @okayplayer @questlove @TheDangelo @kanevibrations

Graycap23 said:

KingSausage said:

Graycap23 said: I'll take Black Messiah over everything Prince has done for the last 14 years combined.

Lol.............be thankful have them BOTH.

I am.

AMEN.

Graycap23 said:

purplethunder3121 said:

Isn't that what usually goes on here?

It's tiresome and boring.

AMEN PT II

OK so its here finally after 14 long years so it best be near perfect. And it is.

The best Prince impersonator the world has ever had which for any huge Prince fan is fuckin awesome

Listening to AOA and Black Messiah on headphones in "shuffle" mode is one hell of a ride

I'm gonna just say it:

There'd be no D'Angelo without Prince!

Its a solid album with some great tracks, but it sounds like Voodoo 2 especially Really Love. For a 14 year absense, there doesn't sound like much growth in his sound. He still sounds like he is in the loungy neosoul sound of the late 90s. Too many tracks are mid tempo. Why does every song use the same exact drum beat? There is also a lack of really strong melodies to tie the grooves together.

With that said there are some really strong tracks Aint That Easy, Charade, Another Life, and Prayer. Hopefully, D doesn't take another 14 year break. Putting out more work consistently will only push him to bridge new territory.

I just played BM & AOA back to back. They both are truly exceptional. I thought after several listens to BM that I would find AOA pales despite having really liked it for some time now. Nope, AOA holds up and while not as raw as BM it has many moments of true beauty. We are all blessed to have both these albums.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Ah, just came from Target not there. Ask a guy there. Said it was it stock but no where to be found. I think they cant put it out until tomorrow, you just got lucky lol.

>

Wow I guess they made a mistake. I'll never curse my luck ever again!

BTW you'll be pissed at no lyric sheet!!!!

[Edited 12/15/14 15:12pm]

CynicKill said:

Why does "Back To The Future Part II" not go on for like eight minutes???

Why do all the songs seem too short?

i agree the songs seem short.

but...this is not the "same ol d'angelo" and this is not neo soul. get some q tips.

i hear growth. idk about yall

Nick715 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

when does the Physical copy hit stores, tomorrow?

Yeah, I'm surprised this hasn't been revealed yet. Maybe another week? That's how it worked last year with the "Beyonce" surprise release.

I bought a phsyical copy this morning from HMV, so it's in some stores.

OperatingThetan said:

Brilliant, incredibly solid album. A musically rich, deep journey.

Love the way he references Prince's (unreleased) 'The Line' at the beginning of 'The Charade'.

It reminded me of the end of 'Positivity'.

tab32792 said:

i agree the songs seem short.

but...this is not the "same ol d'angelo" and this is not neo soul. get some q tips.

i hear growth. idk about yall

>

I agree. There's some songs you never would've heard on "VooDoo".

It's just that "VooDoo" is such an awesome album it casts an imposing shadow. But from what I remember it took time to grow as well. Some critics even hated it so...

KingSausage said:

Speaking of, I still want an extended mix of Clouds!

[Edited 12/15/14 15:38pm]

Absolutely fuckin' outstanding.

This is by an absolute light year the best album i have heard this year. This is a modern day classic and i'd also say that this is the album for the times that we currently live in.

I agree on the fact that we should enjoy all our musical heroes, but this just SHITS all over AOA and PE combined. This is the concept album i wanted from Prince - different, challenging, musically complex, etc.

Also worthy of note going by what i'm reading here from some of you.....yeah, sure, Prince could possibly be D's main influence, but this album (aside from being unique to D) is straight up Sly Stone. This is like if Sly made an album today during his peak. I am very tempted to call D the modern day Sly.

...oh, i actually do hope this makes Prince do another TRC level release!!

Papaj said:

coltrane3 said:

Is anyone else having a lukewarm reaction to this? I mean, it's completely fine and pleasant but the lead up was that it was somehow otherworldy, and for me it's just not. And I loved his first two albums.

What is it about D'Angelo? Whenever it's even hinted that he's going to release something people freak out and act like it's going to be the best music ever made and that music will be saved.

Again, this was fine. I do really like "Charade" and the album closer "Another Life." "Betray My Heart" was a little piece of jaunty fun.

The rest seems one-note. Repetitive vamping in nearly every song. I don't know. Everyone was waiting for this? I would have rather had a Maxwell album if I had to choose.

Co-sign.

we also have to keep in mind that the org is a "special" kind of place where singers like Terence Trent Darby and Janet Jackson are considered genius legends and current music is rarely discussed

Or Prince's business associates.. Ex Band Members.. String arrangers... ect..

CynicKill said:

I'm gonna just say it:

There'd be no D'Angelo without Prince!

New interview with D about the album and assorted things: http://www.okayplayer.com...audio.html

(Full audio at the bottom of article)

I know you’re all still recovering from D’Angelo‘s break-the-internet drop of the 14-years in the making comeback piece Black Messiah, but there’s a whole lot left to be explored on the game-changer. And who better to draw the origins map for the spacey-soul specimen that snuck up on us in the middle of the night, than the man himself? D sat with the ever-decorated Chairman Mao forRBMA Radio and gave the full list of references for the new record, dating back to quartet singers like Robert Blair and guitar giant Eddie Hazel of P-Funk-dom to funk singers or “squallers” likeThe Ohio Players’ leading man Sugarfoot.

I won’t go too far in, mostly because I’m just not ready to discuss the album at length like that (gonna need a few more times through.) But this fairly candid sit-down with Mao is like a history of the entire funk cannon through the prism of it’s great redeemer (encyclopedic thoroughness.) You can read through some of the more compelling excerpts below, including when D first heard Prince, how he got turned on to Joni Mitchell and the timelessness of Band Of Gypsies and listen to the entirety of the interview below. Cop D’Angelo’s Black Messiah LP on iTunes today.

On the first time he heard Prince :

“I was five years old. “I Wanna Be Your Lover” had come out, and it was a big hit. When that album came out, it was just huge. He really, literally, was the talk of the town. Everybody was wondering, “Who is this guy? Is he a guy? Is it a girl?” No one really knew who it was. I remember we had the album, and my brothers were just enamored by this guy. They told me, “He plays everything, he writes everything, he’s singing everything”, so I was hooked from then on. I learned how to play every song on that album, note for note, at five years old.”

On Joni Mitchell’s influence :

“I got hip to Joni Mitchell through Prince. I found out that Prince was a huge Joni Mitchell fan, so I listened to some of her work. My favorite Joni Mitchell album is Blue. Her lyrics, her purity as an artist… she’s very significant.”

On the most essential Sly Stone selections :

“I would say that it’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” For him to be as big and influential as he was – and then turn around and do that? I mean, he had already put his flag in the ground commercially. If he never wrote another song ever again in his life, he nailed it with that one. And, there’s Larry Graham’s bassline. A whole genre of music was created off of that.”

Well, I haven't heard this album yet but obviously it's great. Hell, it must be exceedingly great. But some of you are saying that Prince's best music from the last fourteen years doesn't stand up to Black Messiah?? Rolling on the floor laughing my effing tip off!!

LittleBLUECorvette said:

BEST BUY has it!!! You're safe CynicKill.

>

I was about to say there HAS to be a physical copy somewhere else out there.

So in other words your Target is just lame.

[Edited 12/15/14 16:12pm]

Why is "Betray My Heart" on an endless loop for me?

It's one of his self-penned tracks of course.

"One Mo' Gin" is my favorite track off "VooDoo".

jasminejoey said:

CynicKill said:

KingSausage said:

jasminejoey said:

Well, I haven't heard this album yet but obviously it's great. Hell, it must be exceedingly great. But some of you are saying that Prince's best music from the last fourteen years doesn't stand up to Black Messiah?? Rolling on the floor laughing my effing tip off!!

It doesn't. Black Messiah destroys everything Prince has done since Lovesexy.

This is probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever read. Just saying.