After contless delays and rescheduled release dates,Lauryn Hill's "MTV Unplugged" album will finally see the light of day on May 7 via Columbia Records.The 2-CD set runs 106 minutes and features entirely NEW,solo acoustic songs that may wind up on Hill's sophomore album (yes,she still has a new studio album to be released too!!).Here is the full tracklist for the 2-CD "Unplugged" album....

"Intro"
"Mr.Intentional"
"Adam Lives In Theory"
"Interlude 1"
"Oh Jerusalem"
"Interlude 2"
"Freedom Time"
"Interlude 3"
"I Find It Hard To Say(Rebel)"
"Just Like Water"
"Interlude 4"
"Just Want You Around"
"I Gotta Find Peace Of Mind"
"Interlude 5"
"Mystery of Iniquity"
"Interlude 6"
"I Get Out"
"Interlude 7"
"I Remember"
"Never Forget(So Many Things To Say)"
"The Conquering Lion"
"Outro"


Wow!! That sounds like it's gonna be a stunning album!! Lauryn has been doing alot of soul-searching these last few years,and it seems like she is truly inspired these days.I can't wait until May 7 (I know I'll have a hard time sleeping the night before...lol..)

Come and listen to "Just Want You Around" @ NewPowerRadio!

Thanks DJ Emale! If you go to Lauryn's official site,you can see a video clip of "Oh Jerusalem".

www.lauryn-hill.com

Thank You DavidEye!!!!!

That is great news. I taped the MTV2 UnPlugged show she did. Incredible music bro. I was crying right along with her and the audience at times. I felt her pain no doubt.

I was tellin a friend of mine, what she did during one song was like telepathy- u could hear what happened in her life, in her situation with her husband Rohan, without even hearing it come from her mouth-it was what she did, and didnt do, how she expressed herself in the silence or pauses between the lyrics.

It was moving, testamonial, heartfelt and real. It's like she has been reborn with a new outlook on life in general, but I always thought she was grounded anyway.

Is it just me or did MTV not show the very last song performance?

peace!

Go Lauryn! Can't wait to get my hands on it.
[This message was edited Sat Mar 30 17:29:33 PST 2002 by purpleleaf7]

I think Lauryn is incredibly bold to tape an "Unplugged" special playing ALL NEW SONGS.She could have played it safe,brought her band up there,and played the 'Miseducation...' songs.But she got up there with just her guitar and played a bunch of new ,decidedly non-commercial songs.She's amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on this new CD.

I hope she tours again.I saw her in July 1999 and it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.Carlos Santana came out and joined her on "To Zion" and I thought I was gonna have a heart attack...lol...

I'm a big Lauryn fan, but I thought her "Unplugged" spot was underdeveloped, not minimalist. She's an excellent guitarist, and I admire her fluency with bar chords. But, I didn't really feel her performance. And, I wanted to.

I look forward to her studio album, though.

Yeah David, that was pretty courageous to get up there and bare your soul and then to do all new stuff coming from you and your heart, incredible set.

I felt like we were all part of a recording session in a way too wheh they r still wooking out some of the songs.
I love stuff like this!

peace!

ThreadBare said:

You know,I didn't even watch her "Unplugged" special.I wanna be surprised when I buy the CD,so I didn't want to spoil the suspense by watching the live performance.But I remember on her last tour,she came out and played acoustic guitar during "The Sweetest Thing".I was highly impressed!!
[This message was edited Mon Apr 1 6:05:14 PST 2002 by DavidEye]

Just a reminder....the CD will be released on Tuesday (May 7).Lauryn is also planning to tour this summer,on the "Smokin Grooves" Tour.You can see the tourdates at...


www.MTV.com


To those of you who live in the Bay Area,she plays the Shoreline Amphitheatre on July 18.
[This message was edited Fri May 3 4:09:26 PDT 2002 by DavidEye]

Notice all the Interludes between songs on the tracklist - these are Hill talking & I hear one last 12 minutes. Thats why God invented cd players that are programable - to skip over the interludes.

That unplugged performance showed pure,raw,and honest emotion by an artist not afraid to say what she feels no matter what the general public thinks of it. Lauryn showed so much heart and I hope people listen to what she was saying.

Luckily,even though her album is a 2-CD set,it is being priced as if it was just one CD ($11.99 at Tower Records).Y'all be sure to pick it up on Tuesday.I can't wait!

The DVD/video of the "Unplugged" performance will also be released,but at a later date.In addition to her summer tour,her next studio album is also due before year's end.I hear that this "Unpugged" CD is just a "warm-up" to get fans used to the new direction she is going to take.

Laurun hill really sucks. She knows how to moan and has a whole lot of other throatnoises but that,s it. Lately i saw this video with her and Bob Marley .It's a disgrace (for Bob that is). A YEah uh uh ,one time ,two times . uh uh .Maybe a lot of people consider this to be smooth or whatever but it is a rip off. YEAH YEAH uh oh shiiiiit.

Entertainment Weekly has just posted their review of the CD

www.ew.com

They have some interesting comments about Hill's new image.

Oh my goodness!!! I saw the Lauryn Hill MTV Unplugged special Friday night. I was so amazed!!!!! I think this will be possibly be the greatest introspective,soul-bearing, spiritual CD of the year!!!!! The last time I was this excited about a CD before it came out was with Erykah Badu's debut CD "Baduizm"(1997)before it came out. She just came with great honest music from the inner depth of her soul and the performance was so raw yet beautiful and she was keeping it real with her audience with great conversational insights between songs.

Now even though I've been an admirer of Hill since she came on the scene with the Fugees. I felt like the media overhyped her too much on her debut album, even though it is a great one. I especially dislike critics comparing her to Stevie(Stevie has an amazing artistic track record, Lauryn doesn't have one yet.she's still a new artist basically. In other words she got the hype in 98 and 99 that Alicia Keys is getting this year). However, I think she is one of two or three R&B artists that are doing anything of true artistic value these days.

Especially touching were the moments when she was crying on stage while she were perfoming her songs. Some of these songs wouldn't sound out of place on a gospel station. Color me IMPRESS with her sophomore effort!!! It's too early in the year to list best recordings of 2002. But I think this Lauryn Hill MTV Unplugged recording is the best CD so far this year.

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

You know,I haven't even seen her "Unplugged" special on MTV.I wanna be totally surprised when I go buy her CD tomorrow.It will be released on video/DVD on June 11 anyway,so I will see it then.But after reading your "review",I am gonna have a hard time sleeping tonight...lol...

DavidEye said:

It's a marvelous piece of work man!!!!! Trust me!!!!!

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

Oh and I'll surely put down a purchase on this. I don't mind spending my money on high-quality art such as this.

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

"I think she is one of two or three R&B artists that are doing anything of true artistic value these days"

So true!! I mean,I don't even buy new R&B albums these days because it's all so boring.You got Ashanti singing "Foolish",which steals its' sample from Biggie Smalls (who stole HIS sample from DeBarge...lol...).It'a all a bunch of uninspired,sample-heavy,sex-me-tonight,garbage! With Lauryn's music,you can just look at the song titles ("Adam Lives In Theory","The Conqering Lion")and you KNOW you're in for something different.She's like a breath of fresh air.

I remember reading about a releae date but I forgot all about this--this shit just crept up on me. They had it on the listening station at The Wherehouse on Friday--they wouldnt sell me a preview heh. This is her ATWIAD after the PR like hit of Miseducation. I dig the rawness of her voice on this one, missed notes and all. Viva organic music!

rdhull said:

A few more hours and I will have this CD in my hands!! Can't wait!!

What's this foolishness I'm seeing in the Entertainment Weekly magazine about Lauryn Hill's new CD being a C+ album? Don't believe this review people. Hill's sophomore effort is one of the best releases this year. Close- minded critics blind to the likes of open-minded music. I give their review a C+. Straight foolishness.

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

Just listenin, to the album there's some really great poignant songs on here.

I like 8)

A double cd with only 13 songs?

Brother915 said:

I'm listening to the album right here at work.It's incredible!! It's like listerning to a bunch of unfinished demos,so raw and un-polished.As for that Entertainment Weekly review,it was kinda harsh.But the LA Times review by Robert Hilburn was even more devastating.He writes "At times you can't tell whether the album,recorded last summer,is drawn from a concert or a press conference.The 26-year old New Jersey native spends nearly a quarter of the 100-plus minute album talking to the audience,and the commentary is often rambling,tedious,and self-indulgent".

I've seen several other reviews where the critic complained about the spoken interludes.She's receiving the same type of criticism that Prince got for those eerie spoken parts on "TRC".The USA Today review was the most positive,they gave the CD three and a half stars out of five:)

DavidEye said:

Thats why I pay no attention to reviews, they're full of wank.!!

Hill has made the kind of moves that will garner her much respect from the industry and her peers alike. For her to make an unplugged album of NEW material in only her second time out is a gutsy move. Watch this, her sales will drop off, because she is trying to challenge herself and also her audience and some people will get turned off expecting something similiar to what was on her debut. But she(like Ms. Badu) is proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully.....prayerfully, she will continue to make strong artistic statements such as this and not give in to the cash cow.

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3

Yeah,she is to be commended for taking such a bold risk with this new CD.I don't expect it to be a big seller and radio will most certainly ignore it.But,that's what being an "artist" is really about,following your own path and creating music that YOU wanna make.

So far,my favorite songs on her new CD are "Freedom Time","I Gotta Find Peace of Mind" and "I Find It Hard To Say (Rebel)".Her songwriting throughout is absolutely amazing! She is,arguably,the best songwriter in R&B/hip-hop today.Her lyrics are deep,profound and thought-provoking.You won't find any cliche phrases on a Lauryn Hill album.And her guitar-playing is excellent.I saw her play a little guitar on her 1999 tour,but who knew that she was THIS good?!

The only mistake she is making is by touring with Outkast and other rappers on the upcoming "Smokin Grooves" tour.I don't know how well this new material will go over with the hip-hop crowd.She should do her own tour,playing small,intimate theatres.These songs are personal,somber and reflective.They may not play well in huge,outdoor venues.Then again,Lauryn just might surprise everybody,like she usually does.

DavidEye said:

Yeah, good point about her touring with Outkast. However, she may pull this off. People got to remember Hill even though in recent years she has been focusing on R*B songs through her singing, this woman's got a devastating flow and her lyrical dexterity is awesome. I meant to mention her in the KRS ONE thread as one of the great lyricists of all time in hip-hop.' So the hip-hop crowd(knowing this)may chill and allow themselves to be receptive to Hill's new inspiring acoustic material. I think she'll pull it off. I certainly wouldn't feel safe betting against her.

* Brother 9/15 aka CR3