What do you guys think of this album?

[Edited 8/12/11 22:41pm]

I thought it was pretty good. I would've loved to hear the song "Never Say U Love Me Again" sung with Teena as it was originally planned though.

Honestly? One of my favorite Rick James albums. Absolutely in my top 5. There's not a song on it that I don't love.

I agree, honestly speaking, this album is a masterpiece. Rick james is the consumate composer. This album is so different than his other albums. I think that 'never say you love me again' is his best ballad yet. Dare I say, even better than 'fire and desire' and wait, no it's not better than 'ebony eyez'.

There is something so special about Rick James. I just love him so much.

[Edited 8/13/11 0:03am]

purplecashmere said:

I agree, honestly speaking, this album is a masterpiece. Rick james is the consumate composer. This album is so different than his other albums. I think that 'never say you love me again' is his best ballad yet. Dare I say, even better than 'fire and desire' and wait, no it's not better than 'ebony eyez'.

Oddly enough, I don't care for "Ebony Eyes".

Honestly I was a little disappointed when I first heard it. I was really expecting some hardcore funk ala "Street Songs" or "Fire It Up".

But over a period of time I really started to dig it. Very introspective and it had a modern feel to it. The production was great (very similar to "Emancipation"..I know I'm gonna catch hell for that)

and the songs were good.

The ballads were nice and I liked "Turn It Out", "So Soft" (had a "Mary Jane" vibe to it) and "Favorite Flava".

I'm gonna have to dig the CD out since I haven't listened to it in years. I think Rick wanted "Rapsody" to be a double CD when he first put it together.

....and I agree with P-Dogz. I never cared for the song "Ebony Eyes" either.

Back then and even today if I hear it on the radio I turn it off.

SPYZFAN1 said:

But over a period of time I really started to dig it. Very introspective and it had a modern feel to it. The production was great (very similar to "Emancipation".

Yeah, it has a very warm, organic feel to it, very solid with a thick groove. This was a very important album to him, and you can feel it on every song. I always describe this album to people as being rich with texture. Rick was developing a more mature sound. The last time I saw him perform live was when he was promoting this album at Tramps, NYC.

I thought I had it, But I don't. I have his last Still Waters, but I never really listened to it. I do have most of his stuff + the 2 CD greatest hits, which is great. I think Glow and Throwin Down

are my favorites.

JoeBala said:

I thought I had it, But I don't. I have his last Still Waters, but I never really listened to it.

You mean "Deeper Still", another one of my favorites. I loved the direction Rick was going in.

It's good, much better than I thought that it was going to be, but for me it has a little too much rap and hip hop on it and not enough funk and r & b. I would easily take anything of his circa 1978-1985 over it.

My top 5 Rick James albums in order would probably be:

1. Come Get It!
2. Fire It Up
3. Street Songs
4. Urban Rapsody
5. Bustin' Out of L Seven

You're right. I was blown away by how modern this album sounded. I thought it would gonna be like one of Prince's rap/rnb/gangsta attempts.

I like this album.It was a pleasant surprise,and much better than the few albums that came before it ('The Flag' and 'Wonderful').

SoulAlive said:

I like this album.It was a pleasant surprise,and much better than the few albums that came before it ('The Flag' and 'Wonderful').

I loved this album!!! From top to bottom, it was brilliant. I loved the song writing, the production, the whole deal. There are a lot of gems on it, I thought it was better than 'Deeper Still' (which I also loved), but I do agree, that Rick was heading in a good direction.

I wish that he had broke out of his mold in the late 80's, he could've released anything but 'Wonderful', that album should've been called 'Horrible'.

I love this album, I listen to it often.

Abdul said:

I love this album, I listen to it often.

me too.