AlexdeParis said:

Freddie might've been more successful but he was just dull compared to Alex IMHO in terms of style. He was the urban Lionel Richie, lol.

Timmy84 said:

It's true! Whenever I think of Freddie Jackson, II always think those commercials where they advertise music compilations for weddings and stuff

Ottensen said:

Right!
Plus like Lionel, he went from being in a funk band to being this flower-carrying softie. It's like "the fuck?!"

R&B artists started to homogenize themselves during this period. I still don't understand his R&B popularity back then. Ten #1 R&B hits? I hardly know some of them like that, I know all of James Brown's 17 #1 R&B hits but that's beside the point.

Timmy84 said:

Well, Alex and Freddie were two very different artists. Alex's songs were much more uptempo. Still, what Freddie did, he did very well.

Timmy84 said:

That's only because you were too young during that time. I remember each and every one of those songs. If you listened to R&B radio at that time, Freddie was unavoidable.

AlexdeParis said:

Thank you.
Well you see how much I'm into Freddie Jackson.
He seriously turned me off when he did that L.A. Times interview railing against George Michael
He's not in my ITunes at all. (9600+ tracks).

Timmy84 said:

Exactly.

AlexdeParis said:

I tended to change stations when I heard him.

Before Freddie`s solo lps,hi was the lead singer on Mystic Merlins last Capitol records lp "Full Moon" and i always thought that he did a very nice job.
[Edited 3/15/09 10:58am]

AlexdeParis said:

Not according 2 Andy. He said Alex only had 2 fast songs. The rest were mid-tempo. That's true when u think about it. Innocent and Fake are the 2 up tempo.

I agree wtih u, Alex. I think Freddie was marketed toward the AC market and Alex was marketed 2 the younger demo of the time. I don't remember girls having Freddie posters on their walls in school.

AlexdeParis said:

Sooo true. I remember the Luther vs. Freddie battles on radio all of the time.

Freddie was a second rate Luther in my eyes. He music was lame.

I don't recognize some of the songs on the top ten list. I may know them if I heard them.

My pick is Alex.

daPrettyman said:

I meant more uptempo than Freddie's songs.

Some favorites by each artist:

Alex - Criticize


Freddie - Do Me Again


Alex - What Is This Thing Called Love


Freddie - Jam Tonight


Alex - Aphrodisia

Contains my favorite Alex lyric:

You don't have to wait no longer
'Cause the love doctor's here
I got the stuff to make you holler
So let me be your superniiiiigga!


Freddie - Tasty Love

daPrettyman said:

That debate was always interesting. Luther was the undeniable winner in people's hearts, but Freddie was actually more successful from a hit-making point of view. Of course, a lot of Freddie's success was due to sticking to the formula -- if you like one of his songs, chances are you like the vast majority of them.

Nah, people wanted to marry from Freddie's songs. I remembered "You Are My Lady" and "Tasty Love" and "Jam Tonight" and "Nice 'n' Slow" but all them OTHER songs, it's a flash in memory because I figured someone like Freddie was old hat in the '90s. I heard more Lutha than I did Freddie anyways.

PurpleCharm said:

Exactly my point! I knew of some of Freddie's songs in the '80s but some of those that made the top ten after 1989, I'm like "huh? They were successful? In what way?"

To be honest when I saw Freddie's face on Video Soul, I skip the channel. I kept saying "Luther clone!" under my breath. That may be the reason I didn't know his "number-one hits from 1990-1992", lol. When I saw Freddie again in 1994 (when he covered "Me & Mrs. Jones", I was like "wow, how long has it been?"

Then he truly fell off after that stint on "Family Matters", lol. He was chubby for a while and then by the end of the decade, he got skinny as a toothpick and I almost didn't recognize him...in a way I still don't. He looks weird.

Timmy84 said:

Interestingly, you don't remember the biggest hits from each album.

Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) - #1 R&B Song of 1985

almost certainly his most recognizable song

Have You Ever Loved Somebody - #13 R&B Song of 1987


Love Me Down - #14 R&B Song of 1991 (2 spots higher than "Do Me Again")

AlexdeParis said:

I didn't mention them because I type fast.

SUPRMAN said:

I did too. I didn't care for freddie that much.. I liked love is just a touch away,have you ever loved somebody, and tasty love on occasion but everything else was just barbara weathers atlantic starr era music. I'm older than timmy and like him only recognize the top half of those number 1 hits and i do remember nice and slow barely but like timmy say freddie became old hat and redundant at that point. I give him credit for trying to stay in the game though and he never compromised his sound to mimick what's current. He always put out decent songs even if they were a tad boring.

phunkdaddy said:

Right. I can get Freddie that credit too even if I didn't dig his stuff all that much regardless what number it charted, lol.

Timmy84 said:

That makes more sense! I was shocked you didn't know "Rock Me Tonight."

AlexdeParis said:

Please, everybody knows that song. I remember "Rock Me Tonight" real well, lol... this was the song on which every other song FOLLOWED! Like phunkdaddy said, "redundant".
[Edited 3/15/09 13:44pm]

AlexdeParis said:

I find it interesting that Luther didn't have as many number one hits. Especially in the 80s. By the 90s, Freddie was pretty much done (especially when he went to RCA) and Luther's career got bigger.

Freddie's okay, but Alex is one of my faves. Saw him a few years ago and even though the show was a fucking mess (dude still has major drug troubles) his voice is in good shape. Freddie never did anything as beautiful as A Broken Heart Can Mend or as danceable and funky as Innocent.


There's a video for this one, but it's a bad edit, so I ain't bothering with it.



...
[Edited 3/15/09 15:44pm]

daPrettyman said:

Freddie peaked too quickly.

Timmy84 said:

I guess that "formula" that Alex was talking about didn't continue to work.

For a while, Orpheus productions had a lot of hits with Billy Ocean, Melba Moore, Lilo Thomas, Mel'isa Morgan and others. By the mid 90s, people were sick of that same formula (not to mention Freddie's flaming ass).

I saw Freddie in concert when his Make Love Easy album was out. He gave a really good show, but 2 hours of him in sequence and grinding on girls while winking at guys got old real fast.

What's Missing is my favorite Alexander O'Neal song.




It seems a lot
It's like a maze
And the corridors
Change every day
I'm lost
Without your lovin'
Babe
Let's find
(What's missing)

And if I have
To change my way
To keep the smile
On your face
I'll gladly do
That for you
But let's find
(What's missing)

I'll walk
From New York
To L.A.
Swim the ocean
In a hurricane
And all the time
I'll ask you
Can you tell me
(What's missing)

'Cus when I caught
Your lovin'
Girl
Meant more to me
Than all the world
I'm lost
Without your lovin'
Help me find
(Yey, yeah, yeah)




If You Were Here Tonight - 2nd fav



All True Man



Fake

daPrettyman said:

daPrettyman said:

Luther got bigger (i.e., he crossed over), but I don't think he got better by any stretch. I'd say he actually started declining before Freddie, because 1991's Power of Love was the beginning of the end IMO. I like a few songs after that, but overall it wasn't up to his usual standards.

I can totally appreciate that some people don't like Freddie, but anyone who says he can't sing is deaf and/or crazy!

daPrettyman said:

He did what?!