Trust me, he still has an audience. People doubted Sade and Maxwell could do well when they released new stuff.

scriptgirl said:

Trust me, he still has an audience. People doubted Sade and Maxwell could do well when they released new stuff.

Not the biggest fan of D'Angelo, but I agree.

Max

scriptgirl said:

Trust me, he still has an audience. People doubted Sade and Maxwell could do well when they released new stuff.

Who has ever doubted Sade? She's been considered an icon for decades, people line up when she comes out with new material. That's well known.

scriptgirl said:

D'Angelo is not over by a long shot. Guy's a legend and has a HUGE fanbase.

LOL. What makes him a legend?????

The fact that he has pioneered a certain sound, basically kicked off neo soul and the fact that he is a REAL musician.

scriptgirl said:

The fact that he has pioneered a certain sound, basically kicked off neo soul and the fact that he is a REAL musician.

Boy does the word "legend" get used awfully loosely around here. One does not become a legend simply because they have some musical talent, in music. That's an incredibly low bar. And as far as neo soul, well that's a genre that a)wasn't markedly distinct from soul music from decades earlier b)isn't a genre that even lasted a decade and is derided by many of its "founders".

Sorry, I can't call D'Angelo anything close to legend. A talented contributor to 90s r&b? Sure. But that's the end of it, from my perspective.

[Edited 1/23/11 18:45pm]

scriptgirl said:

Chamber, what's wrong with smoky and moody?

Nothing if you're in the right mood for it, but I'm not always. That's why I choose Maxwell's debut over D'Angelo, because the formers is just more soothing to my ears. There's just something 'bleak' about D'Angelo's music; it reminds me of the downtempo music that's played at a winding down house party, when the host begins to clean up.

You all are crazy!!!!!!!

i love urban hang suite...

but...

Graycap23 said:

scriptgirl said:

D'Angelo is not over by a long shot. Guy's a legend and has a HUGE fanbase.

Really? 11 years and counting..................what ever u say.

Being an authority on these two albums, I'd like to weigh in....

I have never, EVER, EVER EVER, understood the hype when it came to D'Angelo. I think he is great but I have never thought he was the artist some people (?uestLove) acted like he was. I think he came at a time when black music was SUCKING so for many of us, it was a much needed breath of old air. Anyway, if you play them side by side, the Maxwell album just flows better. I don't think either of them are that adventourous but that is the problem, we compare it all to Prince. In fact, I wish P could do an album that was like Urban Hang Suite in it's uniformity. Prince is just too eclectic to do it though. Anynow, no comparisons. D and Maxwell just don't hold up but they are amazing themselves. I just think UHS is incredible and Embrya was an amazing follow up. VooDoo is mostly hype. I don't think it is anywhere near as good as some say it is. Plus, D'Angelo has been out 11 years. We're talking about someone who put 2 albums out in 16 years and none in the last 11. A good first album and a iffy 2nd. Give me a break. Maxwell has been far mor consistent.

My vote Urban Hang Suite by a mile.

scriptgirl said:

The fact that he has pioneered a certain sound, basically kicked off neo soul and the fact that he is a REAL musician.

Exactly what sound did he pioneer?

Both albums are very good, but I'm going 2 go with Maxwell's 'Urban Hang Suite'.

Max had some powerful players and writers on that though...

Leon Ware (writing)

Stuart Mattheman (guitar, sax, keys, drums, production)

Mike Neal (bass)

Wah-Wah Watson (guitar, asst production)

Federico Peña (keys, arranging)

Gene Lake (drums)

Amp Fiddler (keys)

David Gamson (drums, keys)

Graycap23 said:

scriptgirl said:

The fact that he has pioneered a certain sound, basically kicked off neo soul and the fact that he is a REAL musician.

Exactly what sound did he pioneer?

His own sound

Cotontige said:

Graycap23 said:

Exactly what sound did he pioneer?

His own sound

The Prince/Curtis Mayfield sound.........lol.

D sounds nothing like Curtis

Maxwell

Maxwell. It's such a solid album and it works well as coherent piece. I'm pretty sure that I could stick it on now and it would still sound absolutely great, thanks to the production, whereas I think some of D's first album would feel a little dated and faddish. (Both of their sophomore albums are excellent, though - and, even though I love Embrya, Voodoo probably has the edge there.)

scriptgirl said:

D sounds nothing like Curtis

If u say so.

119 said:

And as far as neo soul, well that's a genre that a)wasn't markedly distinct from soul music from decades earlier b) isn't a genre that even lasted a decade and is derided by many of its "founders".

I don't think either point is really true. I have a bigger problem with "a)", because when "neosoul" artists first appeared they obviously used elements from other forms of contemporary music as well. Do "Brown Sugar", "Urban Hang Suite"or "Baduizm" really sound like they could have been recorded in the 1970s to someone? Seriously? If anything, I'd just call it a continuation of soul, rather than some sort of an attempt at creating an entirely new genre. In any case, the word "neosoul" doesn't necessarily even connote novelty. It refers to a revival under contemporary conditions. "Neoclassical", "neofolk" etc. all bear the same implication.

Oh, the original question? I'll go for the D'Angelo record in this case, because "Urban Hang Suite" comes off as a bit too naive to me these days. The vocal delivery, some of the lyrics and the production are somewhat mushy. I've always preferred the "MTV Unplugged" renditions of those songs anyway.

D'Angelo.

Yeah, Maxwell tore it up on Unplugged. Did Embrya come out the same time as Voodoo?

scriptgirl said:

Yeah, Maxwell tore it up on Unplugged. Did Embrya come out the same time as Voodoo?

No, "Embrya" was 1998. "Voodoo" was 2000.

Maxwell's 1st 3 albums were in 1996, 1997, 1998. (Then of course 2001, 2009)