Graycap23 said:

CynicKill said:

So is that what we're doing now, crediting D'Angelo's career to other people?

I like Angie and Sadiq as well as the next one, but to me neither of them have put out an album as good as any of D'Angelo's.

It's like all those people who were taking credit for the success of "Miseducation". OK fine, but if Lauryn was so hopeless an artist, how come none of these people have put out an album as interesting on their own as "Miseducation"?

I'd suggest u talk another look at Saddiq's catalogue.

Saadiq's good, though I don't think he has an album as good as Black Messiah.

[Edited 12/18/14 12:51pm]

CynicKill said:

So is that what we're doing now, crediting D'Angelo's career to other people?

I like Angie and Sadiq as well as the next one, but to me neither of them have put out an album as good as any of D'Angelo's.

It's like all those people who were taking credit for the success of "Miseducation". OK fine, but if Lauryn was so hopeless an artist, how come none of these people have put out an album as interesting on their own as "Miseducation"?

Or why hasn't Lauryn put anything out worth listening to since?! Because those people that participated in her GROUNDBREAKING album sued her for taking all the credit! When they were the REAL ghostwriters. Even the person this thread is about, didn't get credit for his contribution to that album.

Then she disappeared never to be heard from again.

Graycap23 said:

CynicKill said:

So is that what we're doing now, crediting D'Angelo's career to other people?

I like Angie and Sadiq as well as the next one, but to me neither of them have put out an album as good as any of D'Angelo's.

It's like all those people who were taking credit for the success of "Miseducation". OK fine, but if Lauryn was so hopeless an artist, how come none of these people have put out an album as interesting on their own as "Miseducation"?

I'd suggest u talk another look at Saddiq's catalogue.

>

I'll have to do that. I do have "Stone Rollin".

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

CynicKill said:

So is that what we're doing now, crediting D'Angelo's career to other people?

I like Angie and Sadiq as well as the next one, but to me neither of them have put out an album as good as any of D'Angelo's.

It's like all those people who were taking credit for the success of "Miseducation". OK fine, but if Lauryn was so hopeless an artist, how come none of these people have put out an album as interesting on their own as "Miseducation"?

Or why hasn't Lauryn put anything out worth listening to since?! Because those people that participated in her GROUNDBREAKING album sued her for taking all the credit! When they were the REAL ghostwriters. Even the person this thread is about, didn't get credit for his contribution to that album.

Then she disappeared never to be heard from again.

>

That's funny because when I look at the liner notes of "Miseducation" I see nothing but co-producing, additional music comtribution and lyrical contribution credited to other people. Any "programming" not done by her is credited to others. All insttrumental players are credited. Engineers and arrangers are credited. I hate to ask this because I can feel the snark a mile away but what am I missing here?

CynicKill said:

Graycap23 said:

I'd suggest u talk another look at Saddiq's catalogue.

>

I'll have to do that. I do have "Stone Rollin".

I'd recommend his album prior to that, 2008's The Way I See It. It goes for a similar retro-soul sound as Stone Rollin, but is more polished and influenced by Motown pop hits, which he manages to evoke brilliantly. I believe it was pretty successful at the time (there was a kinda retro-soul revival going on what with Amy Winehouse and others) so I'm a tad suprised you own Stone Rollin but not it.

Btw, does anyone know what's happened to Saadiq? I reckon he owes us another album.

thisisreece said:

Graycap23 said:

I'd suggest u talk another look at Saddiq's catalogue.

Saadiq's good, though I don't think he has an album as good as Black Messiah.

[Edited 12/18/14 12:51pm]

Check out : "Instant Vintage"

This thread is a good example of why it's impossible to force "the truth" on people. I remember I used to try to introduce Prince slowly to friends trying to slowly "prove" he's the most talented, best and versatile artist the modern world has seen. Of course I grew up and understood the fact that we are different, and will like different things. We don't have to prove shit. We can give colorful arguments and historical references to make us sound more reflected and wise etc, but in the end an opinion is an opinion, and ones taste is his or her own personal taste. Our ego wants people to aknowledge what we think is the truth as if it's a well known fact.

Been listening to Black Messiah for a while now. And personally I love the textures, the nuances, the contrasts between darker and brighter feel, the joy versus the melancholy... it's a richer album than Voodoo in many ways when I'm talking about nuances and contrasts in styles and sounds. But is it better? Does it have more strong songs? It sure is a bit more demanding, and gives us more suprises here and there kinda, as Voodoo was more or less based on one sound all the way. I do think the album suffers from some of the same stuff Around The World In A Day suffered from. Especially songs like Temptation. Temptation was a very long song that demanded some sort of patience. I love Temptation, but music critics back then and alot of Prince fans hate it. Around The World In A Day would get alot more praise if it was release 3 years after Purple Rain. He could milk that cow for what it was worth quite a while longer, then disappear. When people are hungry, they'll give the music a chance, atleast if it's good. I'm sure Dr. Dre won't get that much praise for his new album if it comes out and it sucks. So are all D'angelo fans bandwagoners, hipsters or just simply blind believers that have been crossing their fingers for so many years that they won't admit that it's lacking something? I want to believe that most fans actually feel that this is a great album no matter what the critics or other people say. I do to. But a classic I'm not so sure yet.

We'll know for sure in about a year I suppose.

In this day and age everyone is hungry to label this or that a classic.

Fran Lebowitz said it best:

thisisreece said:

Graycap23 said:

I'd suggest u talk another look at Saddiq's catalogue.

Saadiq's good, though I don't think he has an album as good as Black Messiah.

[Edited 12/18/14 12:51pm]

his last record was EXCELLENT and way better than BM

I wonder if there isn't drama there. Has Saadiq spoken out about Messiah at all?

This album is an instant classic and completely destroys those two cliched embarassing Prince records.

Got tickets for his London show.. CAN NOT WAIT

i don't really know much as i've just listened to bits.. am downloading the album via itunes right now

i'll say this... fuck me... it sounds so damn analog... i want to know about every bit of gear used to record this album... the compression sounds fantastic to me

if they're using plugins i want to know what they are so i can buy them immediately... but to me, it just has that thick, gooey sound of really great studio hardware gear

MoBettaBliss said:

i don't really know much as i've just listened to bits.. am downloading the album via itunes right now

i'll say this... fuck me... it sounds so damn analog... i want to know about every bit of gear used to record this album... the compression sounds fantastic to me

if they're using plugins i want to know what they are so i can buy them immediately... but to me, it just has that thick, gooey sound of really great studio hardware gear

Check the Producer's Twitter >>> https://twitter.com/RussElevado

Crump said:

MoBettaBliss said:

i don't really know much as i've just listened to bits.. am downloading the album via itunes right now

i'll say this... fuck me... it sounds so damn analog... i want to know about every bit of gear used to record this album... the compression sounds fantastic to me

if they're using plugins i want to know what they are so i can buy them immediately... but to me, it just has that thick, gooey sound of really great studio hardware gear

Check the Producer's Twitter >>> https://twitter.com/RussElevado

thanks

i knew it

the kicker with this album is how it sounds... the mix is great imo... and here's why... it's not perfect... it's alive... it's not sterile, sanitised, safe "this is how music is supposed to sound in 2014/15" rubbish

i haven't "felt" a new release like this in some time... i don't like very song... but even the songs i'm not a fan of hold something for me, either with regards to production, arrangement or mixing

the way the analog gear has been used just kills... it gives the music thickness and presence that i find lacking in so much music today... the production/mix is art... it's musical... as it should be

major props to all those involved

i'd love to know how many tracks pino played bass on... he's a fine musician

i've only been listening via itunes... i'll pick up the cd as soon as i can... can't wait to listen to it through my studio monitors


.

[Edited 12/18/14 20:37pm]

MoBettaBliss said:

Crump said:

Check the Producer's Twitter >>> https://twitter.com/RussElevado

thanks

i knew it

the kicker with this album is how it sounds... the mix is great imo... and here's why... it's not perfect... it's alive... it's not sterile, sanitised, safe "this is how music is supposed to sound in 2014/15" rubbish

i haven't "felt" a new release like this in some time... i don't like very song... but even the songs i'm not a fan of hold something for me, either with regards to production, arrangement or mixing

the way the analog gear has been used just kills... it gives the music thickness and presence that i find lacking in so much music today... the production/mix is art... it's musical... as it should be

major props to all those involved

i'd love to know how many tracks pino played bass on... he's a fine musician

i've only been listening via itunes... i'll pick up the cd as oon as i can... can't with to listen to it through my studio monitors

.

Bless those fullas Russ and crew in the studio for pulling it all together. It must have been a shit fight working 100% analogue on this project through 14 years!

.

NOT easy!

.

Russ has mentioned that it took up to two hours to switch between working on different songs, just to reset/recall all the analogue gear. Absolutely nothing like loading up a recording session on a computer which stores all your settings and reloads in 15 seconds just by clicking on the file name.

.

AMAZING WORK!

.

Why did I have search Black Messiah in the Prince.org Google Custom Search to find this thread? Why isn't it a sticky on the Non-Prince page?

Look I'm not gonna knock Art Official Age. I gave it (and Plectrum Electrum) some spins. But this album makes me feel the way Prince albums used to make me feel. I think the last time was Come. It's just banging. It's been a while since I've played the shit out of an album. And I did like D'Angelo when he first came out with Brown Sugar. And, honestly, I didn't get into Voodoo because I thought he was, by that time, trying to be a Prince clone. Untitled (How Does It Feel), to me, was basically a Prince rip off, though it was basically well done. So, though I knew D'Angelo hadn't put out an album in over ten years, I wasn't looking forward to it. It's like I don't think Dr. Dre will ever put out a new album. There was no build up for me. No expectations or hype. So when this new guy named D'Angelo (haha) put out a new album recently I went into it with no regard to previous recordings. I listened to it brand new, and you know what?, it blew me the fuck away. All of a sudden I'm movin' and groovin'. Wow! Though I can't understand half of what he's singing about without a lyric booklet (haha) it doesn't matter. The way he's singing it with the most jamming-nest (is that a word? haha) music, man it's on repeat. I hear Prince, Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, etc..Sit back with a drink (maybe some smoke) and just groove and appreciate. No reason to compare it to Prince. I know Prince is the king but give credit where credit is due. "Man, this is a fantastic album, let me borrow it..." "No my brother, you got to get your own."

If this album was to lack anything that Prince has or atleast used to have, it's his presence and madness/weirdness. Prince will almost always demand your attention. Even his more subtle and carefully smooth ballads has a tendency of trying to manipulate you into go to bed with him

D'angelo is more like Marvin Gaye. Fantastic voice, but not demanding the same amount of attention. Prince vocals sounds the same as he looks when he stares at you with mascara and eye liner on.

D'angelo is a master thief though, and I love how he is using similar texturing to his tracks with his vocals as Prince would do on songs like Paisly Park. ATWIAD has alot of vocal texturing and nuances that I believe D'angelo to be a huge fan of.

nd33 said:

MoBettaBliss said:

thanks

i knew it

the kicker with this album is how it sounds... the mix is great imo... and here's why... it's not perfect... it's alive... it's not sterile, sanitised, safe "this is how music is supposed to sound in 2014/15" rubbish

i haven't "felt" a new release like this in some time... i don't like very song... but even the songs i'm not a fan of hold something for me, either with regards to production, arrangement or mixing

the way the analog gear has been used just kills... it gives the music thickness and presence that i find lacking in so much music today... the production/mix is art... it's musical... as it should be

major props to all those involved

i'd love to know how many tracks pino played bass on... he's a fine musician

i've only been listening via itunes... i'll pick up the cd as oon as i can... can't with to listen to it through my studio monitors

.

Bless those fullas Russ and crew in the studio for pulling it all together. It must have been a shit fight working 100% analogue on this project through 14 years!

.

NOT easy!

.

Russ has mentioned that it took up to two hours to switch between working on different songs, just to reset/recall all the analogue gear. Absolutely nothing like loading up a recording session on a computer which stores all your settings and reloads in 15 seconds just by clicking on the file name.

.

AMAZING WORK!

.

yep... i hear ya
i have a small home recording setup with a 24 channel console and 12 channels of analog compression... recall on that alone is a bitch but totally worth it

there's a lot of discussion on hardware vs plugins (don't get me wrong... plugins have come a long way) ... some people don't seem to hear a difference.... to me the difference is obvious

of course recording to tape is a big thing... the harmonic distortion on this album is unbelievably rich

Replica said:

I want to be clear though. I respect all opinions. But too many people sound like they're forcing the "truth" on others. "Let's turn the atheist into believers". That goes to everyone of different views. Let's have this discussion without trying to make different opinions sound stupid.

Then stop saying shit like this:

Replica said:

People use excuses like 14 years of no music, mumbling, not a one man band etc for criticizing the album as a whole. How can that be taken seriously?

You like the album, good for you, I and others in here don't like it and stated reasons why that are just as valid as the reasons the fans of this album do like it...

Neversin.

[Edited 12/19/14 1:48am]

MoBettaBliss said:

i don't really know much as i've just listened to bits.. am downloading the album via itunes right now

i'll say this... fuck me... it sounds so damn analog... i want to know about every bit of gear used to record this album... the compression sounds fantastic to me

if they're using plugins i want to know what they are so i can buy them immediately... but to me, it just has that thick, gooey sound of really great studio hardware gear

If you're interested, Russ did a whole Q&A on gearslutz back in '07: link

I think Quest droped a hint about Russ documenting the whole gear side of things so maybe there'll be more to hear from him yet...

Also, this is the twitter page of the other engineer of the record, Ben Kane, who's putting up info about each track for the next week or so. You might get some gear info there too.

[EDIT] Oh, and if you're looking for (i think) better than CD quality, BM is on HDTracks: link

[Edited 12/19/14 2:36am]

getfunked said:

MoBettaBliss said:

i don't really know much as i've just listened to bits.. am downloading the album via itunes right now

i'll say this... fuck me... it sounds so damn analog... i want to know about every bit of gear used to record this album... the compression sounds fantastic to me

if they're using plugins i want to know what they are so i can buy them immediately... but to me, it just has that thick, gooey sound of really great studio hardware gear

If you're interested, Russ did a whole Q&A on gearslutz back in '07: link

I think Quest droped a hint about Russ documenting the whole gear side of things so maybe there'll be more to hear from him yet...

Also, this is the twitter page of the other engineer of the record, Ben Kane, who's putting up info about each track for the next week or so. You might get some gear info there too.

[EDIT] Oh, and if you're looking for (i think) better than CD quality, BM is on HDTracks: link

[Edited 12/19/14 2:36am]

thanks man... much appreciated

i'm a gearslutz member.. i've been reading the q&a stuff this evening... great stuff

Neversin said:

Replica said:

I want to be clear though. I respect all opinions. But too many people sound like they're forcing the "truth" on others. "Let's turn the atheist into believers". That goes to everyone of different views. Let's have this discussion without trying to make different opinions sound stupid.

Then stop saying shit like this:

Replica said:

People use excuses like 14 years of no music, mumbling, not a one man band etc for criticizing the album as a whole. How can that be taken seriously?

You like the album, good for you, I and others in here don't like it and stated reasons why that are just as valid as the reasons the fans of this album do like it...

Neversin.

[Edited 12/19/14 1:48am]

I just don't understand the relevance of how many years it took between two albums. It's about as relevant as for me to say Prince spent 20 years of his life to create For You, so why isn't it a out of this world classic? Other non relevant things would be to say that somebody farted all the vocals. If it was possible to fart and it'll sound like Bruce Springsteen vocals, it still just sounds like Bruce Springsteen. An album wouldn't sound any better, although maybe the process would have been more interesting and impressive. You wanna be a music critic that is focusing on what we hear, or what we don't hear?

Replica said:

This thread is a good example of why it's impossible to force "the truth" on people. I remember I used to try to introduce Prince slowly to friends trying to slowly "prove" he's the most talented, best and versatile artist the modern world has seen. Of course I grew up and understood the fact that we are different, and will like different things. We don't have to prove shit. We can give colorful arguments and historical references to make us sound more reflected and wise etc, but in the end an opinion is an opinion, and ones taste is his or her own personal taste. Our ego wants people to aknowledge what we think is the truth as if it's a well known fact.

Been listening to Black Messiah for a while now. And personally I love the textures, the nuances, the contrasts between darker and brighter feel, the joy versus the melancholy... it's a richer album than Voodoo in many ways when I'm talking about nuances and contrasts in styles and sounds. But is it better? Does it have more strong songs? It sure is a bit more demanding, and gives us more suprises here and there kinda, as Voodoo was more or less based on one sound all the way. I do think the album suffers from some of the same stuff Around The World In A Day suffered from. Especially songs like Temptation. Temptation was a very long song that demanded some sort of patience. I love Temptation, but music critics back then and alot of Prince fans hate it. Around The World In A Day would get alot more praise if it was release 3 years after Purple Rain. He could milk that cow for what it was worth quite a while longer, then disappear. When people are hungry, they'll give the music a chance, atleast if it's good. I'm sure Dr. Dre won't get that much praise for his new album if it comes out and it sucks. So are all D'angelo fans bandwagoners, hipsters or just simply blind believers that have been crossing their fingers for so many years that they won't admit that it's lacking something? I want to believe that most fans actually feel that this is a great album no matter what the critics or other people say. I do to. But a classic I'm not so sure yet.

I think what we've seen is just a bit of the old competitive instinct. Just our bilogical background ;P. Starts with people viewing their affiliations, ideas, tastes, judgements as extensions of their own self value. And then, instead of sitting down and honestly discussing, collaborating, seeing what everyone has to bring to the table and being open making the most of it all, instead it turns into a fight for dominance. Some people get threatened by not having universal approval, and just have to feed their insecurity and urge to conquer. And so the piss fights begin. The behavior might have made sense back when we lived in tribes where being influenced by the ideas of those outside your group might have endangered your kin's livelihood.

MoBettaBliss said:

thanks man... much appreciated

i'm a gearslutz member.. i've been reading the q&a stuff this evening... great stuff

Pleasure! Hope we hear more music from this group again soon. Can't wait to see the vids of the upcoming shows in 2015.

You think D will headline once he comes back to the States?

Anyone else have a problem finding a physical copy? My local stores sure dropped the ball on this.

Cinny said:

Anyone else have a problem finding a physical copy? My local stores sure dropped the ball on this.

There were about 50 copies at my local Best Buy.

Cinny said:

Graycap23 said:

Cinny said:

Anyone else have a problem finding a physical copy? My local stores sure dropped the ball on this.

There were about 50 copies at my local Best Buy.

Oh man, my Best Buy stopped bringing in new releases. All they have is their old catalog sitting there. I remember when it was several aisles and had all of the new releases (not even 5 years ago).

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Cinny said:

Anyone else have a problem finding a physical copy? My local stores sure dropped the ball on this.

You might have to ask. Or they might be sold out. I went to Target Monday a b d sold out. Went to Best Buy and they had a few.

I should try Target! Target is sorta new here, so I don't always think of them first thing.

When is the cutoff to chart on Billboard, cause D didn't chart this week.