I love his voice and his collabos with D'Angelo, but some of his solo work can be spotty

i'm a pretty big fan of his, but i'm not sure myself. love most of the tony toni tone stuff i've heard and all his other collabos, but not crazy about his first few solo albums . the way i see it is a classic album though, imo , so...

GREAT talent, one of my fave artists from these past 2 decades,,,but I wouldn't call him a genius.

Harlepolis said:

I agree. His work is so hit and miss. I didn't care for his first few solo projects (including Lucy Pearl). However, I do love a lot of the songs during that time frame. I also love the work he did for others. Genius....not quite.

Yeah, I'm going to echo everyone else. Really good artist, some awesome work, but not a genius.

I'm coming out of lurkdom to state that if he is a genius, he'd be smart enough to drop his ego and stay with Tony Toni Tone. He's at his best when he works with his former group members. Maybe he can't return to the group because his arrogance pissed them off.

werd,
i was just talking about this song the other day!

http://new.music.yahoo.co...y--2155818

Not a genius, but pretty good.

Genius as compared to whom? ...depends on how you look @ it. Every project he's done has had some fairly decent amount of success. His work resume is quite impressive, he's not the cat to call for a quick hit! He helped create "neo-soul"(the industry killed it),2 of D'angelo's hits a co-written by Saadiq!He created the 1st r&b supergroup w/Lucy Pearl(won't ever see that again).Time has shown us that clearly he doesn't need TTT as much as Dwayne and Tim need him. Though it would be nice to see them together again. Genius...compared to the "so called" current crops of successful artists...yes....against Stevie,Prince, etc.....maybe in the class,,,but ranks low1

I don't know if I would call him a genuis,but I really enjoyed his last album 'The Way I See It'.

speaking of that album....they should have released "Oh Girl" as a single

SoulAlive said:

I'm still trying to figure out why it isn't call "Ooh Girl."

Not a musical genius but definitely a great artist

AlexdeParis said:

I was thinking the same thing

Genius? Not even close.....having said that, Saad is quite talented.

SoulAlive said:

and made just one kiss 20 minutes longer

purplepolitician said:

Nah, part of the reason I love it is the length. It says what it has to say and the it'a over. Just hit repeat if you want to hear more. Personally, I can only take Joss Stone in small doses.

Sort of and No. He has incredible potential, as witnessed throughout his musical career but I STILL aint feeling Vintage Gospadelic or whatever Fans claim that's the second coming but I either need to be high or there is a block somewhere.

I was just listening to his live at the Hoise of Blues record of 5 or so years ago and I gotta say DAMN!!! Whoever wrote all the parts and rehearsed the band to that calibre of performance is pretty special. Saying it's tight is an understatement. Check it out!

nd33 said:

It was even better in person.

Is he a "musical" genius? Yes.
if you asked "Lyrical"? then maybe not - though Still Ray is pretty close and lines such as "Seems like we met on heaven before this earth" on the Mary J Blige production I Found My Everything perfectly compliment the music.
I disagree re: his best work too - The Way I See It is the album he always wanted to make, a labour of love but I believe in 20 years time people will look back on his catalogue and point to Instant Vintage as being his classic.

Can't wait for the next one - no idea what it will sound like ... thats the point.

btw very nice interview http://www.soulmusic.com/...ba20i.html with Raphael Saadiq's funk guitarist ROB BACON, includes a Raphael Saadiq contribution.
Also some insight on Joi, D'angelo & George Clinton's all star band Children of Production.

Graycap23 said:

Lucky lil bastard!

I love love love Raphael but as far as calling him a musical genius, I wouldn't....not yet. Don't get me wrong, as a musician, producer, singer, song writer, he's good, but somehow it just doesn't feel right to call him a musical genius just yet...but he does have genius potential.

for this song right here Imma call him a genius!

I like the guy, but his vocals are only ok. His music is hit or miss, and he does nothing original. He has taken note from true great crooners of the 50's and 60's and learned how to use space, phrasing and a cool delivery- nice yes, genius, no.

I often wish his backup singer- whatever her name is, would come out with a jazz flavored cd of her own (maybe she has, since I havent gone out of my way to look into him or her in detail). Her voice reminds me of a Darlene Love type vocalist and I always end up thinking she is the real star when I see him perform.

AlexdeParis said:

was over reacting with 20 minutes, but at least 2 or 3 , but i understand what you're saying and i've hit repeat on that song more than any i've heard in a while . i can hardly stand joss either, but the both of them just work on this song . "come on, girl...break it on down..."

yeah,that song with Joss Stone is heavenly sounds like a long-lost R&B song from 1973.

JQuad said:

REALLY, i wish i found that gilly gif to give you.

huh?
I'm still waiting for reasons for the "no's" as to why he wouldn't be a genius. Nothing concrete has come up yet