datdude said:

ok, i admit, i'm only Four songs in right now on Spotify, four songs i could NEVER hear again and be ok, so unless the this thing takes a serious turn for the better, i'm afraid ppl just REALLY miss this guy and will dickride ANYTHING he puts out. so far, so forgettable. I hope to come back and recant this...

Spotify has the worst streaming audio sound I've ever heard. It's far, FAR worse than YouTube. I've heard things on Spotify that I've had in my personal collection for years, sometimes decades, and it sounds like a different mix, or a different version. Just terrible AWFUL sound quality on Spotify.

That being said, I'm falling in the not really sold yet camp on Black Messiah. It's a good album, but it's not reaching great levels for me yet. I'll give it a chance over the next few months, but I was really hoping I'd be instantly floored like some people are and it's just not hitting me that way.

KingSausage said:

A 94% Metacritic score. I keep seeing glowing reviews. I double check. Triple check. Quadruple check. Nope, they don't seem to be about AOA. They're all about Black Messiah. What universal truth about the terrible shittiness of D'Angelo's album could all these critics be missing, that all the hardcore Prince fans seem to realize. We must just have better tastes and magical music hearing powers. Or we're just smarter than everyone else. D'Angelo-loving critics better axe somebody else. Oh no he didn't! Maybe they're just groggy. Or they've got BOYTROUBLE.

But many of these same people didn't like Prince's AOA when you did either. Personally, I love them both. Listening to Black Messiah for the fourth time tonight, it's genius is really emerging for me. It's a rich, genuinely deep album and incredibly exciting.

OperatingThetan said:

Blame the hype.

It's been drumming hard since what, 2006?

When an album is hyped this much it's gonna be disappointing to many no matter how great it turns out to be.

Think the series finale of "LOST" for perspective, though that really was a disappointment. My point is even if it had been great people would still be disappointed by it because the results never match up to what you've built up in your mind.

CynicKill said:

KingSausage said:

CynicKill said:

Blame the hype.

It's been drumming hard since what, 2006?

When an album is hyped this much it's gonna be disappointing to many no matter how great it turns out to be.

Think the series finale of "LOST" for perspective, though that really was a disappointment. My point is even if it had been great people would still be disappointed by it because the results never match up to what you've built up in your mind.

But the world outside of Prince.org is loving the fucking hell out of Black Messiah. A lot. There must be something in the water we drink.

>

I've come to realize that the org doesn't seem to really care for D'Angelo which sorta shocks me. I just figured he'd be up most of ours alley. But there's a lot of hate on here for Prince too which to a certain extent I understand. I mean being a fan of Prince can and always has been a frustrating experience.

You guys crack me up. There are eighteen pages(!!) filled with the most glowing, gushing praise ever issued for a new album. What's with the outrage?? Everyone, on and off the .org, seems to agree it's a masterpiece. A few are not quite persuaded it's the greatest album ever recorded. Certainly you can make an allowance for that?!

[Edited 12/17/14 16:46pm]

jasminejoey said:

You guys crack me up. There are eighteen pages(!!) filled with the most glowing, gushing praise ever issued for a new album. What's with the outrage?? Everyone, on and off the .org, seems to agree it's a masterpiece. A few are not quite persuaded it's the greatest album ever recorded. Certainly you can make an allowance for that?!

[Edited 12/17/14 16:46pm]

Great album, with great reviews, both here in Prince world and in the real world. It's okay if a few disagree...

[Edited 12/17/14 16:56pm]

jasminejoey said:

D'Angelo is a very laid back, chill guy (too much herb) and his music is a reflection of that. I need a little more variety in tempo and immediacy. The fact that all songs are roughly the same speed just lulls me to sleep. How about a dance track or hard driving rock track just to spice it up a bit? Someone else said on this thread that he is a great slow groove maker, but not necessarily a great songwriter and I would have to agree with that. It seems like the groove comes first and everything else is an afterthought. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't all the same groove.

More of this?

>

KingSausage said:

A 94% Metacritic score. I keep seeing glowing reviews. I double check. Triple check. Quadruple check. Nope, they don't seem to be about AOA. They're all about Black Messiah. What universal truth about the terrible shittiness of D'Angelo's album could all these critics be missing, that all the hardcore Prince fans seem to realize. We must just have better tastes and magical music hearing powers. Or we're just smarter than everyone else. D'Angelo-loving critics better axe somebody else. Oh no he didn't! Maybe they're just groggy. Or they've got BOYTROUBLE.

here you go:

Breaking the Voodoo curse: D'Angelo, Black Messiah, and the perils of perfection

http://www.theverge.com/2...iah-review

I heard D'Angelo for the first time at the turn of the new millennium, and like many people, I felt that I had stumbled onto the savior of modern music. His 2000 masterpiece Voodoo was a completely unique mixture of funk, R&B, gospel, and hip-hop: the guiding star of the nascent neo-soul genre. It went to number one on the Billboard charts, sold millions of copies, and won numerous high profile awards. You could be forgiven for asking, "How is he going to top that?"

The answer was brutally simple: he didn't. For the last 14 years D'Angelo has been silent, save a few middling singles and numerous rumors about his health, sanity, and the progress of a follow up. And then, without much warning, it arrived at midnight last night, a 12-track album entitled Black Messiah. For a man whose career essentially missed the modern internet, new music from D'Angelo did not fail to set social media on fire.

I feel conflicted about critiquing this record, mostly because I'm just overjoyed that D'Angelo feels comfortable and confident to make and release new music. I'm rooting for him, in other words, in a way that I don't for most musicians. Voodoo was such a powerful antidote to the stuff that passed for R&B at my high school, hits from teeny boppers like Britney Spears, N'Sync, and 98 Degrees.

Black Messiah doesn't measure up

If I'm being brutally honest, however, Black Messiah doesn't measure up. The greatest joy of Voodoo was D'Angelo's vocal range, alternating from silky smooth to ragged gospel to lascivious funk. He plays with that diversity on this new album, but to me his vocals sound far less distinctive and are often buried beneath a layer of distortion that smothers the transcendent sensation I get listening to tracks like Voodoo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)."

On "How Does It Feel," D'Angelo's voice is double- and triple-layered, crafting elegant harmonies with himself. The instrumental backing is minimal, building to a series of crescendos around his aching vocals. It was a rare instance of an artist baring himself completely — both musically and, in the unforgettable video, physically. It made him into a sex symbol and, more than decade later, hasn't lost any of its power. The video is four and half minutes, but for the real experience, listen to the full album version and wait for that moment six minutes in (Six. Minutes.) when he completely lets loose.

The new D'Angelo sounds like what it is: the tortured follow-up to an album that cannot be topped

All of which is to say, Black Messiah is music that I like. It's full of live instrumentation, interesting arrangements, and strikingly human vocals that stand out against the majority of singers on the charts and in the clubs these days. There are weird digressions and also tight grooves, but ultimately the new D'Angelo sounds like what it is: the tortured follow-up to an album that cannot be topped, plagued by 14 years of self-doubt from the singular genius at the center of it.

On "Back to the Future (Part I)," D'Angelo sings "So if you're wondering about the shape I'm in / I hope it ain't my abdomen you're referring to." That's a sly joke about his personal struggles with substance abuse and weight gain, a nice moment where he shows a sense of humor about the demons that have kept him silent for so long. I think that's why I feel like such a heel for reviewing this album. Every album cannot be a new Voodoo; hell, it's possible he'll never reach those highs again. I'm just happy D'Angelo is back, and apparently the rest of the internet is, too. I hope this record, whatever its flaws, means we can expect more new music from him, preferably sooner than 2028.

[Edited 12/17/14 17:31pm]

lrn36 said:

D'Angelo is a very laid back, chill guy (too much herb) and his music is a reflection of that. I need a little more variety in tempo and immediacy. The fact that all songs are roughly the same speed just lulls me to sleep. How about a dance track or hard driving rock track just to spice it up a bit? Someone else said on this thread that he is a great slow groove maker, but not necessarily a great songwriter and I would have to agree with that. It seems like the groove comes first and everything else is an afterthought. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't all the same groove.

Maybe you'd be interested in this remix of Brown Sugar they did back in '12 (shame about the shit quality). I think this is about as far up in terms of tempo/immediacy I've heard him. IIRC he's also performed some covers in the same vein, so I think he definitely has the ability to pull it off if he puts his mind to it. If you're looking for crazy uptempo stuff, I don't think D'Angelo, (in his current songwriting state of mind) or this album in particular is where you should be looking for it. Missing the forest for the trees, a bit. It's like looking for milk in the hardware store. Wrong department!

getfunked said:

lrn36 said:

D'Angelo is a very laid back, chill guy (too much herb) and his music is a reflection of that. I need a little more variety in tempo and immediacy. The fact that all songs are roughly the same speed just lulls me to sleep. How about a dance track or hard driving rock track just to spice it up a bit? Someone else said on this thread that he is a great slow groove maker, but not necessarily a great songwriter and I would have to agree with that. It seems like the groove comes first and everything else is an afterthought. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't all the same groove.

Maybe you'd be interested in this remix of Brown Sugar they did back in '12 (shame about the shit quality). I think this is about as far up in terms of tempo/immediacy I've heard him. IIRC he's also performed some covers in the same vein, so I think he definitely has the ability to pull it off if he puts his mind to it. If you're looking for crazy uptempo stuff, I don't think D'Angelo, (in his current songwriting state of mind) or this album in particular is where you should be looking for it. Missing the forest for the trees, a bit. It's like looking for milk in the hardware store. Wrong department!

I don't think it is too much to ask for a little bit of variety. That Brown Sugar remix sounds great. Put in a few tracks like that. There are some great ideas on this album, but in its current state I find it a chore to get through.

Just as a side note..

This is Just the Groove from the Prince/Time song 'Chocolate' w/ Brown Sugar's lyrics.

wgetfunked said:

Maybe you'd be interested in this remix of Brown Sugar they did back in '12 (shame about the shit quality). I think this is about as far up in terms of tempo/immediacy I've heard him. IIRC he's also performed some covers in the same vein, so I think he definitely has the ability to pull it off if he puts his mind to it. If you're looking for crazy uptempo stuff, I don't think D'Angelo, (in his current songwriting state of mind) or this album in particular is where you should be looking for it. Missing the forest for the trees, a bit. It's like looking for milk in the hardware store. Wrong department!

lrn36 said:

Maybe you'd be interested in this remix of Brown Sugar they did back in '12 (shame about the shit quality). I think this is about as far up in terms of tempo/immediacy I've heard him. IIRC he's also performed some covers in the same vein, so I think he definitely has the ability to pull it off if he puts his mind to it. If you're looking for crazy uptempo stuff, I don't think D'Angelo, (in his current songwriting state of mind) or this album in particular is where you should be looking for it. Missing the forest for the trees, a bit. It's like looking for milk in the hardware store. Wrong department!

I don't think it is too much to ask for a little bit of variety. That Brown Sugar remix sounds great. Put in a few tracks like that. There are some great ideas on this album, but in its current state I find it a chore to get through.

Definitely not too much too ask, but you're pretty much guaranteed to be disappointed, seeing as he just doesn't seem to be interested in releasing that kind of music ATM. You could probably get more enjoyment out of it by just taking it for what it is. To go back to the other analogy, you're obviously going to be disappointed if you're looking for milk in the hardware store, but if you set out with the mindset to go appreciate the chainsaws or something, then it might actually be worth your time.

Like you, I'm keen to hear him do more crazy uptempo stuff, but I'm not holding it against him for this record and just trying to make the most of what's been offered.

Ego101 said:

Just as a side note..

This is Just the Groove from the Prince/Time song 'Chocolate' w/ Brown Sugar's lyrics.

Holy shit!

KingSausage said:

jasminejoey said:

You guys crack me up. There are eighteen pages(!!) filled with the most glowing, gushing praise ever issued for a new album. What's with the outrage?? Everyone, on and off the .org, seems to agree it's a masterpiece. A few are not quite persuaded it's the greatest album ever recorded. Certainly you can make an allowance for that?!

[Edited 12/17/14 16:46pm]

My first reply was unnecessarily harsh and negative. I guess my day was just shitty. What am I doing attacking a person I don't know on a Prince fan site? Fuck this. It's not me, and it's not right. I am sorry. I'll try again, this time with more reason and respect. There are some negative comments here, but a good deal of harsh comments about D'Angelo on other threads. People are welcome to disagree and that's okay. Peace. [Edited 12/17/14 17:21pm]

I reacted too strongly myself. KS, you are one of the funniest, most enthusiastic members of this site. Keep on keeping on.

getfunked said:

lrn36 said:

I don't think it is too much to ask for a little bit of variety. That Brown Sugar remix sounds great. Put in a few tracks like that. There are some great ideas on this album, but in its current state I find it a chore to get through.

Definitely not too much too ask, but you're pretty much guaranteed to be disappointed, seeing as he just doesn't seem to be interested in releasing that kind of music ATM. You could probably get more enjoyment out of it by just taking it for what it is. To go back to the other analogy, you're obviously going to be disappointed if you're looking for milk in the hardware store, but if you set out with the mindset to go appreciate the chainsaws or something, then it might actually be worth your time.

Like you, I'm keen to hear him do more crazy uptempo stuff, but I'm not holding it against him for this record and just trying to make the most of what's been offered.

Fair enough. Its just the very nature of the album is what's preventing me from enjoying it. I've listen to it all the way through once. When I try again, I just cut it off. I listen to a few select tracks but end up losing interest. Maybe it is something about the tone or feel that isn't sitting well with me. It doesn't help that D'Angelo's vocals can be like the musical equivalent to yawning.

getfunked said:

MonoNeon did his take on Another Life. Amazing bass player.

jasminejoey said:

jasminejoey said:

KingSausage said:

jasminejoey said: My first reply was unnecessarily harsh and negative. I guess my day was just shitty. What am I doing attacking a person I don't know on a Prince fan site? Fuck this. It's not me, and it's not right. I am sorry. I'll try again, this time with more reason and respect. There are some negative comments here, but a good deal of harsh comments about D'Angelo on other threads. People are welcome to disagree and that's okay. Peace. [Edited 12/17/14 17:21pm]

I reacted too strongly myself. KS, you are one of the funniest, most enthusiastic members of this site. Keep on keeping on.

This place can be pretty cool sometimes.

I just have to say--and it is my opinion only, not taking anything away from D'Angelo or this album--as much as I dig and can dig into his music, it still doesn't move me or transport me to another realm the way that the best of Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, and, of course, Prince can do. For me, although this is a great album for what it is--after listening many times--it just doesn't have the same lasting effect that the aforementioned artists have. But, in saying that, I still enjoy this album a lot and it is very refreshing to hear.

Review: D'Angelo Brings Organic Funk Back to Life on the Epochal 'Black Messiah'

9

SPIN Essentials

When D'Angelo sings, "All we wanted was a chance to talk / 'Stead we only got outlined in chalk" on his long-awaited third album, we can't help but think about Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner. But he probably wrote that couplet four years ago — ?uestlove's been hyping that song, "The Charade," in interviews since 2011. More to the point, it could've been sung in 1971 by Marvin Gaye on What's Going On. Or by Sly on the Family Stone's answer album, There's a Riot Goin' On. Old Jim Crow isn't that old and New Jim Crow isn't that new. Later on the new Black Messiah, our host muses that he's "traveling at the speed of light and then, at the same time I'm in the same spot too." It could be a meditation on quantum physics, sure, but it's about this discussion too: D's in the same room, locked into the same rhythm, making his inimitably rich and rare music about the same pain and gain. And his Vanguard are already in full swing when you hit play. The music just picks up — none of the niceties, all the nastiness — as if to say, "This conversation never stopped. Where you been?"

When Black Messiah arrives, there is no fanfare of horns. No hyped statement of purpose or musical parting of the clouds. What we get is a flurry of siren-like guitar disturbance, an errant bass slap, and panning handclaps crossing jerky drums. The man's voice is multitudinous and alien. You reel amidst the disorientation of an opening track called "Ain't That Easy." You try to make sense of it, buck against its oddness, then give up and relax into the pocket of a perfect groove that was already there. Voodoo came out in 2000. That's 14 years that've passed without a sermon from the neo-soul "savior," as ?uesto's dubbed him (or if you prefer, "R&B Jesus"). But an eternity in the music business is a blink in human progress. Love and faith are as confusing today as they were when we first heard "Devil's Pie."

" data-placeholder-html=" Play " data-video-width="620" data-video-height="349"> Play

So is Black Messiah a protest album? There's politics aplenty, but you won't find much that easily reduces to slogans, nor an acoustic strum for a sit-in. For one, D's words are rarely legible. Amidst these wild, often dissonant soundscapes, his voice is a small vessel in a big sea — packed with import (the lyric book weighs a ton), but often presented as a note or a beat, or otherwise turned into a pile of voices singing in uneven unison à la the Funk-Soul Eccentric archetype laid down by George Clinton. Whether this is an intentional refutation of frontman-hood or not — lord knows D's struggled with the spotlight — it's frustrating if you're straining to hear a message. But all that multi-tracking, mumbling, and moaning also reflects the frustration back at the listener. It's our own everyday inner monologue, overdriven by general confusion, moral dilemma, anger, and ennui. We are murky legion.

There's a stagnating pessimism here. On the opener, D'Angelo imparts, "Won't believe all the things you have to sacrifice, just to get peace of mind / You take what they give as if it did suffice, still it's just a waste of time." The shambolic intro of "1000 Deaths," samples two Black Panthers attacking institutions — public displays of strength in the face of an amorphous enemy. But seconds later, D sings from the POV of a soldier who can't talk himself into charging over the hill to fight a specific battle. Similarly, the glistening "Till It's Done (Tutu)" paints global warming as part of a bigger scene where "tragedy flows unbound," before asking point-blank: "Do we even care?" The menace is aural too: "Deaths" sounds like Jimi Hendrix using his guitar to fend off a steam engine full of possessed passengers, while "Tutu" wends to a seasick lilt. Black Messiah has dozens of false starts, short stops, jagged breaks, and backmasked bits. Everything is a little warped. But somehow, the music never falls out of the pocket. And in that commitment to upholding the groove, we find warmth and evidence that we're still moving forward despite the assault on our senses.

" data-placeholder-html=" Play " data-video-width="620" data-video-height="349"> Play

As on Brown Sugar in 1995 — ahem, "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" — romance is a thorny matter too. Songs like "Sugah Daddy" and "Really Love" lie next to one another on the track list, respectively portraying a conniving seductress who needs a spanking (over a lean doo-wop joint), and a treasured partner who ought to be cherished (this one fat with Spanish guitar and florid harp). By presenting these as opposites, Black Messiah illustrates the push/pull between the wholesome affection we all agree we deserve, and the dovetailing desires that we guilt each other about. For D, it's a gap too far to bridge. The LP finds a little peace with the hopeful, Prince-ly "Prayer," which makes space for a promising relationship on "Betray My Heart." But love walks out a song later, to the whistling stoop-folk of "The Door," leaving our hero alone with his thoughts. Which are pretty self-aware: "Say if you're wondering about the shape I'm in / I hope it ain't my abdomen that you're referring to."

Because what's a serious conversation without some relief? Dark though it may be, the music itself invites repeated listens and rewards with serious loveliness. And it's worth noting that D and his crew — ?uesto, Q-Tip, Roy Hargrove, co-lyricist Kendra Foster, bassist Pino Palladino, drummer James Gadson, and engineer Russ Elevado, among others to be named — managed to make a record as virtuosic and sonically adventurous as Kanye West's Yeezus and Flying Lotus' You're Dead! using an analog approach. Black Messiah is both ancient and fresh — a surging mass of old blues and new soul built from classic thought and rebel spirit, unending angst and beautiful struggle, sunshine and moonlight and cynicism and sex and fighting and loving and losing and praying and cussing and hating and hoping and, oh what the hell:

ALL! HAIL! D'ANGELO! THE BL—

But wait.

"The title is about all of us," D wrote in a pamphlet handed out at a listening session for this LP. "It's not about praising one charismatic leader, but celebrating thousands of them. It's a feeling that, collectively, we are all that leader." In the same note, he shouts out Ferguson, Egypt, and Occupy — events that inform these songs whether or not their stories were literally written into the narrative. Because the conversation keeps going and progress isn't measured in album cycles.

djThunderfunk said:

KingSausage, the booklet is nice, it has everything you would want... EXCEPT lyrics.

The pictures & credits are great, though.


1000 Deaths, second listen... okay, I get it. There's a LOT to love on this track. There's one thing I don't like. The fast, loud in the mix, low end, rhythmic sound, that is especially dominant the first half of the track, grates on me. I'm not even sure of it's source, sometimes sounds like bass strings but not played in a familiar way. I guess I'm probably not describing it very well. Regardless, the song is otherwise fantastic.

Love this album! It's gonna get many spins!!!!

Let's not wait another 14 years D.

The review you have just read represents an ultrasound of this reviewers brain. We would now like to apologize for the confusion and unnecessaryness of its contents. It is not beautiful. Whack 'em, music God. Whack 'em.

It's almost an apples to oranges comparison to compare Black Messiah and Art Official Age, or even D'Angelo and Prince.