Comes out Tuesday on MCA.

STAR 69:

If Prince would release some tracks like Common's 'Star 69', he would be Dead On It Seriously, Deliriously! I am sooo digging this track. It is the brightest spot i have found lately. I have MY Prince back. I can feel him once again. Give me this any day, every day.

Thanks Prince for whatever your part was. For two years now, I have been without light, I am in darkness no more

Have only heard tracks here n there but the buzz is it's the album of 2002. I look forward to agreeing.

Looking forward to picking this up... should be even better than Phrenology.

I Got a Right Ta... hopefully this will be the weak link. I don't know why Common decided he needed to mess with the Neptunes... Like Water For Chocolate was the best production I've heard on any album in a long time. ? is on some next shit.

This is an excellent album by Common. It may remind some of Outkast's "Aquemini"or "Stankonia" but worth the purchase. I'm feeling everything on the cd right now.

Electric Circus is classic.

i just bought the record this afternoon. listened to it through some headphones; i didn't get the vibe i got from 'like water for chocolate' after that first spin. the first three songs off of that record were just overwhelming. it's proof of what the soulquarians are capable of. but this is a record i believe must grow on you.
a couple of tracks i favor at this moment; 'come close' (great neptunes produced track, unlike 'i got a right ta'; ain't feeling it), 'soul power', 'aquarius', 'i am music' (most refreshing moment on the album) and 'jimi was a rock star' (gotta say com's got some balls to release this one; great tune).
and ofcourse, one of the reasons i was curious about this record, 'star 69 (ps with love)' with prince; this song is okay, but not as good as i expected. nothing spectacular. what does make it worthwhile though is that 20 seconds of outro; prince working the machine he, according to questlove, created 'when doves cry' with. brought a smile to face; made me wish prince would still work with that equipment.
overall a nice album which will probably grow on me in the next few spins. gotta give questlove some props; production is indeed outstanding, with some great interludes inbetween songs. makes me hope for a soulquarians album with d'angelo doing some vocals..

I just heard the end of *69 also! Damn, that shit sound like an out-take, but no it is fresh!!!. Man If Prince worked with that stuff again just for one or 2 songs, I would just cry!

It only being :20 gave me chills.

Is that Prince & Bilal in the background???

If not Prince also, them Bilal do a damn damn good job of imitating him, but most likely i think it is him

paisleypark4 said:

it's just bilal singing. i'm not even sure prince is featured in the song 'star 69'. he's credited for playing keys and guitar, but then his input must be minimal. the outro is pure princely satisfaction though. and yeah, he should use that equipment more often..

Yes that outro on *69 is baaad stuff. Classic P.

Erykah's spirit is all over this I Erykah so it's all good.

This is a bold ass record for Common to make. I understand why after hearing it Prince compared it to him delivering "Around the World in a Day" to the suits... P said he would love to sit in the meetin where Common delivers this to the suits.

I hear a lot of people comparin it to Outkast and I can hear the similarities. But it's about time that the Outkast style becomes a subgenre on its own. No need for one group to have the monopoly on the sound.

I'm lovin it tho. Between this, ONA Live, and Phrenology which I haven't even cracked open yet, this is a GOOD week for music.

[/quote]
it's just bilal singing. i'm not even sure prince is featured in the song 'star 69'. he's credited for playing keys and guitar, but then his input must be minimal. the outro is pure princely satisfaction though. and yeah, he should use that equipment more often..[/quote]




Oh well, I just gonna keep believing that that was Prince on the right side of my ear and Bilal on the left just 2 make me happy.

Man yeah, it sooo good 2 hear that sound again, I like 2 sample Linn drum trax and make my own songs out of them, he's the person who used them the most..

Anyone else make Linn Drum songs?

Do you guys ever read the linear notes?

XLBubba said:

like i said "he's credited for playing keys and guitar, but then his input must be minimal. the outro is pure princely satisfaction though." so, to answer your question; well yeah, i do read the liner notes?

Harlepolis said:

Don't downloud it. Buy it, then play it loud. I promise you'll like it

I love this cd, too bad radio won't. But i give him credit for doing the damn thing!!!

This album is better suited for Dangelo, the lyrical content is not strong enough.

The music makes this album.

Common is at his worst on this album, but the muscians are at their best.

Prince part is not all that impressive and sounds more like some shit he did like in 5 minutes. LOL, I mean I cant believe people are all excited about some shitty sounds he recorded 20 years ago.

Essence said:

Guess I agree overall, 2002's been a quiet year. Feeling Aquarius, Electric Wire Hustler Flower, New Wave, I Am Music (Jill Scott is so versatile), Jimi Was a Rockstar...

Feel a little letdown by Star69, seems Prince is only on a MPLS Sound retrospective last 20 seconds or so. I dig Bilal so it'll probably grow on me.

Also a little let down by Heaven Somewhere, heard it was some sort of classic. While it's an allstar cast singing beautifully I didn't hear much of a song there beneath the sprawling instrumentation. Great to see Common is giving Omar's career some publicity on this album though.

My favourite song on Electric Circus is Come Close with MJB, really beautiful "fly love song" (Com's intro). Probably best song Neptunez done as yet, showing they can do the organic sound too. Shame I Got A Right Ta sounds like such a toss away.

Overall one of if not 2002's best LP.

Essence said:

I didn't hear anything abvout this track (and very little about the album) until I bought it in London. I listened to 'Heaven Somewhere' and fell in love with it.. This soundscape covers a lot of ground with many contributions, so it was always in danger of being lambasted as 'sprawling' or 'in danger of collapsing uder the weight of the people appearing in it' - and even though the former comment might have some merit, it holds my attention beautifully throughout. No, I can't hum the tune at the end, but I want to go back and hear again how I got from A to B with this composition, and enjoy the magic it conjures up throughout. And with so many lovely yet diverse offerings, it isn't as if anyone is trying to outdo someone else - they all just express the song in the way they do it best. Most of all, I love it when Pops comes in at the end and just says it like life is.

I can tell who has never heard Common until this album.

XLBubba said:

Right, many here would be shocked to know Com had four albums out before EC. That said he didn't cross over really until "The Light" and a good number of Orgers will only be aware of him through his Prince association in recent years and now the collaboration.

Essence said:

Whereas I think that there will be a fair few people who will learning about Common on prince.org, particularly because Prince has contributed (marginally) on this release, I'm pretty sure that most anyone who has bothered to buy this latest release already will have an understanding of Common.s back catalogue, and own at least one album by him. The majority of people who choose to purchase this album within a week of its release are doing so because they:

a. been expecting its release because they have been looking out for it regardless of whether Prince has contributed

b. based their decision to purchase on their knowledge and enjoyment of his past output, some - if not all - of which is likely in their collection.

XLBubba said:

Common will never again reach the heights he had on Resurrection... only because the lyrical content on that album is utopian.

Common's lyrics are very bad and lack dept on this album.

The music makes this album, Common did not really bring anything to the table.

What's funny is people think Common and crew are doing something new.

he definitly went back to the Parlament Funkadelic EDDIE Hazel days.I will see how it sounds live at the show.

XLBubba said:

So what did you think of his lyrics on the song "Between Me And You & Liberation"?

Yeah, that was one of few songs where he actually says something worth listening to, but most of the album sounds like spoken word or something at times he sounds like a very bad Andre 3000.

Explain this to me

On December 10 at 7:32 p.m.

XLBubba said:

and 7 whole days later

you say:

I had my suspicions about you Radicalman/Eltonjohn2045, MX, MDiddy...but you just proved you instigate shit for no fucking reason.

It's classic because of the music, Common's ability on the mic on this album is questionable. Most of the album sounds like spoken word over some very impressive music.
Keep having your suspicions.

chickengrease said: