How do they compare? Both came out with top drawer R'n B/Soul efforts for their first albums ('Brown Sugar' and 'Van Hunt'), then changed it up and let loose a little more on the follow up (Voodoo, On The Jungle Floor). Save for the fact that D'Angelo took the best part of five years to get going again, and Van Hunt did his second one a couple of years later, there's a few comparisons there.

Whose first two do you prefer?

Let's see:

D'Angelo

Brown Sugar: The standouts -- "Brown Sugar," "Me and those Dreamin' Eyes of Mine," "Lady." One of the first so-called "neo-soul" albums. Enjoyable from beginning to end, but sounds more dated with time.

Voodoo: The standouts -- "Send It On," "Chicken Grease," "Greatdayinamornin'," "Untitled," "Spanish Joint." Has "aged" better than the first album.

Both albums had nice grooves, decent changeup, and decent lyrics. But they tend to stay in their respective grooves.


Van Hunt

Van Hunt: The standouts -- "Dust," "Hello, Goodbye," "Hold My Hand," "Out of the Sky," "Her December." The album seems to change pace pretty well, the lyrics are witty and creative. It seems to lag in the middle.

On The Jungle Floor: The standouts -- "If I Take You Home," "Hot Stage Lights," "Being A Girl," "No Sense of Crime," "At The End of a Slow Dance." Very adventurous and eclectic. Already my favorite of the four albums. Also lags a bit in the end, and has 2 short but annoying skits.


Right now, all things being equal, I like both sets of albums equally.
[Edited 5/5/06 16:11pm]
[Edited 5/5/06 16:11pm]

Yeah I'm gonna go with liking both. One artist has something the other doesn't.
And "Jungle" has been getting a lot of rotation on my player. I dig the whole CD (except "Mean Sleep").

Hopefully D will get something out one of these days.

I love d'angelo's albums, but "On the jngle floor" is betetr than anything D'angelo has done, Van is kind of like Prince during his prime.

I gotta go w/ D'Angelo, he's had a much more lasting impression on me than Van has. But I'm finally warming up to Van & digging a lot of tracks on the new joint, I no longer think he's shit like I used to

Tough one to call.

D'Angelo has a smoother voice the Van Hunt, but I like Van Hunts music better. D releases an album every decade and Hunt releases one every year.

I'd go Van Hunt but by a little smidgen.