Remy Shand's debut CD 'The Way I Feel' is one of the best albums of 2002,in my opinion.But it doesn't seem to be doing that well.The first two singles "Take A Message" and "Rock Steady" only became minor hits.I rarely see the videos on MTV,VH-1 or BET.What went wrong?

On the other hand,Norah Jones' debut CD seems to have really taken off and I predict she will get a few Grammy nominations.Remy deserves the same recognition,does anybody agree?

I agree that he should recieve more attention..Keep in mind that he is with Motown..and these people did a *sllooowww* launch with India Arie..So they might be planning stuff up closer to Grammy Nod time...

Also, his album is no where near the strenght of India.Arie..I think his album was a good listen, and it introduced his style well, but it gets a tad boring halfway through and the remaining songs lack solid hooks, chorus or anything memorable for that matter...

I think they are nuturing his career...Unlike say an Alicia Keys who's album was overhyped...I'll wait for concerns upon the release of his second album...

not me Man.I Dig your Posts alot&you are a Sharp Cat but Remy is a No-No type of Artist.you see from the Video to His Falsetto the Whole Vibe had a Gimmick attachment to it.not knocking His Talent but lets be Real it was all about Presenting a White "NEO-SOUL Singer.that Shock Treatment that Keder Massenburg displayed in the Video.I think He was presented as a Gimmick as to just doing His thing.and to Be honest having heard the rest of the Album"Take a Message" was the Catchiest Song but the song&Video go into a U-turn of Direction to me.that song was like Heal the World-Lady in My Life slash back&fourth without finding a solid theme within itself IMHO.but lets's be Frank: Drop the WHite Guy Can Hit a High Note&Play Various Instruments thing&just do your thing.He might have a chance but somehow Keder went about it all wrong.

Actually I really enjoyed this album too, and I'm not at all surprised that it's pretty much been unnoticed. I think it's one of the best albums of the year. But I do think the last three songs are a little weak. The best three or four songs on there should all be hits and just have a classic r and b sound- ie. Burning Bridges, Everlasting, I Met your Mercy, and Rocksteady...

Perhaps with a little more variety, Remy Shand could be more successful. His songs are all kind of similar to each other. But I do love the style, so I didn't mind so much. It's good stuff.

bobby caldwell did "blue-eyed soul" betta than remy shand does it.

the effort: +1

the effort, although u sound a helluva lot like--naw, teetering on the brink of soundin a lot like p, circa 1979: -1,000


[This message was edited Sat Sep 14 12:16:38 PDT 2002 by PlastikLuvAffair]

PlastikLuvAffair said:

I Agree with Bobby Caldwell&a touch of Gino Vanneli.but Remy doesn't Sound like Prince much at all to me.He sounds more like A Slightly Off Maxwell Meets Jameriquai IMHO.

mistermaxxx said:

rofl @ "slightly-off maxwell"

shit...
[This message was edited Sat Sep 14 13:10:20 PDT 2002 by PlastikLuvAffair]

I think it's a little unfair to use Bobby Caldwell as an example simply because Bobby was doing his thing before videos became the norm. Til this day, there are probably many people who think Bobby is Black just because of the way he sings and not having actually seen a picture of him. Plus, when Bobby was around that was a totally different era in music and radio.

Unfortunately for Remy Shand, he doesn't have the luxury of producing music in a "non-music video" world like Bobby did. But, from my perspective the thing that "went wrong" with Remy Shand is simple - HE DIDN'T OFFER ANYTHING NEW - period. Once someone gets over the initial shock that he's a White guy, there's really nothing else worth noting about his music. Yes, he's very talented, but the tracks he put down was still very basic stuff (IMO) and not only that but it also lacked a lot of emotion.

But I always give rookies the benifit of the doubt, and I do think that Remy still has a lot of potential. He definitely should keep going and not give up.

abucah said:

---

Does anyone think the record did not do well because of the sorry state of black radio? It is hard for black singers and musicians to get exposure if a rapper is not on the record. Don't you think it would be even harder for a white guy who is not in a rock group or boy band to get radio airplay.

I liked Remy's record I do not think it is a masterpiece or he some sort of musical genius. However, I think he definitely a victim of the anti-musician vibe that is going on in black music right now.

DavidEye said:

This must be a sign that I need to buy Remy's debut; the vast majority of music that gets the push nowadays is bland and boring. The material that doesn't get the hype is more than not more distinctive. It wasn't always that way, although there always was middle of the road boring, or just terrible music making money.


One reason is the marketing of her cd. It was priced really low for a long while last Spring (I think around $8.99 or $9.99), it sold well and her video was in solid rotation on the video channels, at last for a while there. The buzz was created.

laurarichardson said:

Very well said. I agree with your point too. The ant-musician vibe is running rampant in "black" radio/video. The sad thing about it is that there's no end in sight. As we speak we're literally losing a whole generation of musicians (real musicians). At the rate we're going in "black/R&B" radio, in the not too distant future, actually being able to play an instrument or write and compose music is going to be a thing of the past as far as the music radio/video market is concerned.

Get this: A couple of months ago, I actually saw a financial news article one of the cable news channels (forget which one, think it was Fox) and they were actually touting "hip/hop" as a great stock market buying tip. Can you believe that??? That's when you know beyond a doubt that an artform has been flipped... when it's the hottest ticket on the stock market - it's OVER! Believe ME!

Maybe what turned people off is that cheesy part in the video where they freeze frame and he is all the band members, making goofy faces as if that song is difficult to play. Give me a %$#*&!@ break. The song puts me to sleep too, never heard the album.

abucah said:

I Don't think Pop/Rock Radio is pushing anything either favorable IMHO fully.alot of Seattle Clone Acts&Chicks that are Crying in there Beer isn't much better than what is happening R&B/Rap Nowadays overall IMHO.

DavidEye said:

No. Mistermaxx is right the only reason this guy was hyped up to be the next big thing is because he's white. His music comes off as neo-soul lite. If he were black he'd be a Maxwell clone. As a matter of fact he's a white Maxwell...snore. The guy needs to get in touch with Michael McDonald or Hall & Oats and learn how it's done.

abucah said:

I don't think a video would have helped. All his songs sound alike and they're boring.

laurarichardson said:

I agree with you.It's a nightmare to market somebody like Remy.He's a White Canadian artist and his CD consists of retro-soul songs with no rapping or samples.He's too soulful for pop radio to embrace,and not "hip-hop" enough for R&B radio to accept.I just hope that Motown sticks by him and allows him to continue to be himself.I cringe at the thought of him "selling out" and bringing in guest rappers and "hot shot" producers next time around.

For the time being,they should release the title track as his next single.It's a breezy,midtempo song with a hypnotic feel.Somehow,I feel that this song would really catch on with the public in a way the first two singles failed to do.

SunFlowerz said:

You really should hear the rest of the album.The other songs are WAY better than that first single "Take A Message".I prefer the songs "Burning Bridges",the mesmerizing "The Second One",the songs "Colour Of Day" and "I Met Your Mercy" which Al Green would have loved to record,and the reflective "Looking Back On Vanity".It's like a good ol' fashioned soul album,with no samples,no rappers,no superstar duets.Just Remy playing all the instruments and singing all the vocals (sound familiar?...lol).

Admittedly,there's room for improvement on the lyrics.But occasionally there's some brilliant lines in these songs ("She was rich but I was beautiful" may sound corny,but in the context of the song it works).

David, I'm glad at least you appreciate how solid his album is. I'm telling you folks, real music lovers don't give a crap whether he's black or white while singing classic soul or not. And you shouldn't either. Don't listen to one single and decide he sucks, because it's a great album. We listen to Prince, we should know better than that! If I only knew My Name is Prince, I probably wouldn't be tempted to buy the Symbol album.

Bottom line is, the album sounds like Al Green for a new generation. And it's not tainted with modern technology and style, it's pure and true.

most of the songs are at the same tempo same flow just does not take any chances. a good listen but nothing 2 write home about maybe the next time around he might jump in instead of merly getting his feet wet.

Exactly, I feel that the album is one continuous track. Spice it up a bit, (Craig David are you listening?) again, one continuous track

DavidEye said:

i like that video rock steady david...i think i seen it most often on muchmusic (which a canadian channel )

I think he's good but not a stand out. There's no real different flava although I don't bore with it (like Craig David).

The blue-eyed soul singer always gets a little hype when many times it's just an imitation. Flava Flav says don't believe the hype.

You know when a blue-eyed soul singer is really good...they never use "blue-eyed sould singer" to describe them.

The radio tracks and online samples I've heard of Remy Shand don't sound anything special IMO. Not one hook's stayed with me... so much better stuff out there to check first.

DavidEye said:

---
Well only time will tell. I hope Motown sticks with him
We got to have some real RnB and I don't care if green people are performing (LOL)

Remy Shand is great. I think it's just a case of another great artist being overlooked by the general public.
Motown will surely drop him if he doesn't breakthrough, but I hope he still finds a way to put his music out there for those who are interested.

Here's what Elton John has to say about Remy...


"And there's this cute White boy from Winnepeg on Motown named Remy Shand; he's made the most soulful album I've heard in quite some time--it's like a mixture of Marvin Gaye,Al Green,and Curtis Mayfield.It's a word-of-mouth album a bit like India.Arie's in that it's not particularly commercial,but stay with it and you will love it forever".


That's quite an endorsement.Then again,Elton probably just has a crush on Remy

Naw, Elton's said these type of comments about Ryan Adams, Ben Folds, and John Mayer. I think Elton has a knack of knowing decent music and sifting through all the garbage that comes out these days and picking out the worthy albums...

That's a great statement he made, because it's not like I thought it was a great album the first couple of times I heard it, but it definitely grew on me. Kind of like a lot of Prince albums. The statements people have made on this thread about the music being "boring", it just takes time to marinade... because I felt that way the first time I listened to it.

DavidEye said:

is there really anybody that Elton John won't endorse? Remy ain't done Nothing that St Paul Peterson didn't do a 100 times better at least 12-15 Years Back IMHO.

Does anyone think the record did not do well because of the sorry state of black radio? It is hard for black singers and musicians to get exposure if a rapper is not on the record. Don't you think it would be even harder for a white guy who is not in a rock group or boy band to get radio airplay.

I liked Remy's record I do not think it is a masterpiece or he some sort of musical genius. However, I think he definitely a victim of the anti-musician vibe that is going on in black music right now.[/quote]



VERY GOOD POINT, Laura
(&.. I agree with it, but that's beside the point)

I've admittedly only listened to Remy in the stores. I can't say I'm very impressed. He sounds very derivative. Maybe it went nowhere cuz it sucked?

Maybe if he was a bit cuter; like Alicia Keyes? :LOL: