guitarslinger44 said:

Next time keep a brother informed.....I would be GREATLY appreciated.

What if Van Hunt and Prince toured together? Wow! I'm sorry but that would be hot.

alwayslate said:

I loooove that song. It is playing right now as I type. Priest or Police is my second FAVE!!!

Meh....


I'm sort of disappointed in On The Jungle Floor. The first half of the album I felt, was okay. The second half wasn't so good.

I like the way Hunt kicks things off with two uptempo numbers, with "Hot Stage Lights" being a great little tune. By the way, I love the production on the drums - upfront a little, but not clearly and aggressively so. I liked the more rock fueled tunes too; my girlfriend started trippin' about Van Hunt trying to cop Kravitz but she chilled after I checked her; Kravitz does not hold the premium on black rock. I digress,...I could also do without the interludes. Those are certainly entertaining and funny (if you were there obviously) but I don't buy albums to hear goofy exchanges. "Daredevil" fell flat on it's face. I thought the beginning of the song was interesting but when those Bonham-esque drums kicked in during the song's second half, I lost interest. I liked "Being A Girl" and agreed that it was probably one of Hunt's best realizations of a song. Suspicion and Mean Sleep were boring....Mean Sleep, bah. I liked the piano sprinkles, I did not like Van Hunt's off-key hollering towards the end. Besides, you can hear a better version of this song off of Cree Summer's album. I don't like the idea of this old tune being thrown in the middle of an important release like this. Someone at Capitol, either Hunt or the suits, got real lazy or had an aneurysm. Van Hunt needs to carefully pick and choose what songs and keys he should sing in - he's not an impressive vocalist; although, he's an interesting, if off-kilter, lyricist. "Character" is a studied interpretation of Mayfield and it works. The second organ riff is fucken killer! - Mayfield had to have been smiling up in heaven when he heard this one. "No Sense Of Crime" sounds like a Mr. Nelson interpretation of the Iggy Pop original and it's cute. "Slow Dance", again, our boy's vocals are awashed with reverb to hide the fact that he's not the proper vocalist to sing this song but it may be one of the best tunes on the album. The rest,....::snores:::: The last three songs are throwaways. They're cute; I was expecting Hunt to come out on this album and blow the roof off. So far, his debut has more instant classics.


I'm bored, as you can see.

chuckaducci said:

That's how different musical tastes are - i *LOVE* Hunt's version of "Mean Sleep" and think it's much more soulful than Cree Summer's version; in fact it's one of my favourite tracks on "On The Jungle Floor".
[Edited 4/8/06 7:04am]

Meh...I disagree.


Taste has nothing to do with whether or not Hunt's version of "Mean Sleep" (a tune he penned with Cree Summer) is more soulful than Summer's take. It's a pop-rock song 'though I can see how Nikka Costa's vocals would make you think so. When it moves him, Hunt can sound very soulful e.g., "Seconds Of Pleasure". On this song, he sounds like a rookie - especially towards the end when he sings "Who will....?" - bloody awful and bloody off key.

Which just illustrates that tastes are indeed different - because, no matter what you say and if you think "Mean Sleep" is a pop/rock song (cliche anyway) or not won't change the fact that i love Hunt's version and that to me IT IS soulful and that i DO like it a lot better that Cree's version.

Btw - there is no such thing like a "pop/rock song" - any song can be whatever you want it to be, you can take soul ballads and turn them into speedmetal, you can take a folk song and make it the most funky tune ever, everything is possible.

So to say, a certain song belongs to a certain xy musical category and must not be played/arranged/produced in a different way is pretty narrow minded i'd say.

Anyway, as said, different strokes for different folks..

SteamForest said:

It would, Prince is the greatest live performer in pop music, period, but Van's made an album that even Prince might envy (or make him feel like a proud papa).

Saw him on Leno the other night. Sounds exactly like Curtis Mayfield on the song he did.

U can see the obvious similarities of Prince by his and the band's look.

I couldn't find this CD on Tuesday and ended up ordering it from Amazon that day. I wanted it by this weekend and it didn't arrive, so after reading suggestions from you all I found it under the H's in the store, and now I can finally breathe. I don't buy CD's when they first come out let alone hunt them down unless it's someone special.

While I don't think Van has the strongest voice, he is still an extremely talented and creative musician. I don't think you should have any expectations or try to compare this CD to any other (his previous or anyone elses) when you first listen. I just love his vibe and the flow of his music. I'm gonna make sure I see him live this time.

My mind would surely be blown if he toured with Prince.

chuckaducci said:

I don't know...

The first couple of songs are what was expected from him. It was a natural progression from the first album. The latter half just came outta left field. I love that sort of experimentation. That departure from the norm. That's where the real sickness comes from.

beatz01 said:

Does Summer have a new cd or are you talking about the one she made back in the 90's?

Graycap23 said:

the 90s and it was a very strong album

Mean Sleep was on that record and it was a pop masterpeice...simply a great pop song. Van Hunts version (he wrote the original) is much grittier, dirtier and just plain out significantly different. Nikka Costas appearance as someone else said makes perfect sense. His vocal just like on the rest of the album is not very strong which is the weakest apsect of this whole project. He needs to work on that part...but this cat is well on his way. I am shocked that he hasn't hooked up with Andree3000...especially since both are from ATL. This record is what Andre is going after.

Personally I'm just glad to see a Van Hunt out there doing their thing. One day the box that black artist have been painted into by hip-hop and record excecutives is gonna fall and its going to be because of artist like Van Hunt, D'Angelo, E Badu, Maxwell, Nikka Costas (yes I know she isn't black but her music certainly is) ...I could go on. Van Hunt lets me know that their are still artists out there

im not sold on the album yet..but i love the first one and will give this a few more listens before i judge...

Alexandernvrmind said:

I have Cree's cd bury somehwhere. I'll have to pull that out. I did not like the cd when it came out. Maybe I have a different perspective on it now. Thanks for the info.

I got the new Van Hunt CD and it is EXCELLENT. I have retired "3121" ALREADY in favor of "On The Jungle Floor." The song he did with Nikka Costa is BRILLIANT. Ima have to research and get Cree Summer's version. The only negative thing I have to say about this CD is that his influences are EXTREMELY evident on the CD. One minute he reminds you of Curtis Mayfield, the next, a little of Lenny but most of the time, he sounds A LOT like Prince. Listen to "Hot Stage Lights" and I dare you to tell me that song isnt 95% Prince inspired..lol..nevertheless, I Love this CD and I see Van Hunt as a fixture in my household

Alexandernvrmind said:

i thought this song sounded familiar....

just heard the album, it's fuckin way better than the first one!!! I'm lovin' it!!!

Did you all see Van Hunt on Leno? His band sure is eclectic. A Sly And The Family Stone thing with the two white girls and the big afro guitar dude..lol

I had a hard time finding this CD as well. I live in DC and went to both Best Buy and Target on Tuesday night and neither place had On the Jungle Floor on the shelf yet. I ended up getting it at a Wal-Mart in Augusta, GA this weekend...of all places. Anyway, I am already in love with this CD. My favorites are Mean Sleep, Daredevil baby, Hot Stage Lights and The Night is Young. This album is so much different than his first (which I still love). I am very pleased with his sophomore album. If you don't have it, you're missing out!

I wanted to go peep his opening set on Wednesday but the tickets are sold out here in Atlanta.

beatz01 said:

I know I'm Late to the KCRW thang, but that was Kool!! Thanx for the Link!!!




...

I'm jukin' to this album right now! I love it! I was just on TicketBastard.com and i think he's sold out most of his dates cuz there are only two dates left to get tickets for!

As I was listening to the cd closely this past weekend, my mind kept inserting a lead guitar on half that tracks. I think I've been playing leads to damn long or listening to prince too much. I really only like about 1/2 of the songs.

I beleive the 1st cd was better overall.

I have to say that I am shockingly surprised at how good this album is I liked his first album, especially Dust and Seconds of pleasure, but it wasn't anything we haven't heard before.

Now you have him starting out with stanky shit like "Hot Stage Lights" I had no idea he had this in him

This album is much more adventurous than the first and he went much deeper than I ever expected he could

I'm loving it big time and definitely recommend it

.
[Edited 4/10/06 13:27pm]

chuckaducci said:

I can agree with you on "Being A Girl," "Mean Sleep" (I'm liking Nikka Costa less and less) and "At The End of a Slow Dance" (I think he was intentionally trying to channel an 80's vocalist, like the lead singer from Dexy's Midnight Runners but it worked for the song).

But I disagree with your overall opinion. This album is a real step forward. It doesn't literally "sound" as good, but it's more energetic, self-assured, and adventurous than the debut. Honestly, I was like Supa . . . I was really surprised it was as good as it was, I was expecting Van to follow the same formula.

I'm sorry but Hot Stage Lights is simply a killer song The video for this could be ruthless

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Damn skippy! I think part of what makes this album so cool is that everyone kinda expected him to make another record kinda like the first one. But he's got all these influences that we really didn't know about. It's cool cuz we don't really know quite who he is as an artist yet so he could do anything at this point! This is part of what makes me so excited about him.

Who's the cutie on bass?

I should've stated that he introduces her along with the rest of the band - does anyone know anything else about her or the guitar player? The whole band is tight.