duccichucka said:

Fauxie said:

Stoopid.

You don't have to be a cunt: what I meant by that, if you had only asked, was that Van Hunt

does not subsist on writing catchy pop songs that are immediately accessible. So by listening

to it the way you would a jazz or classical music album, you could have a deeper appreciation

for what was happening musically. You don't approach a jazz album expecting to be taken in by

its accessibility; instead, you prepare yourself to think about what you are hearing.

Complaining that What Were You Hoping For? doesn't have appeal is silly; if it had a whole

bunch of Dusts, Slow Dances, Down Here in Hells, etc, and you still didn't find it appealing, then

your complaint would have merit. Hunt subsists on composition - you're listening to the album incorrectly.

And what is stupid is stating that you would not buy an album that didn't appeal to you: like,

who the hell buys albums because they don't?

I didn't say Van Hunt does subsist on writing catchy pop songs that are immediately accessible. You also have no idea how I approached listening to the album. I simply agreed with BlaqueKnight's sentiments. 'Popular' won me over instantly, and that was hardly full of catchy pop songs. I like Van Hunt going 'out there' away from, say, the fare on his first album, but it has to be good 'out there' for me to enjoy it. So far after 3 or 4 listens I'm just not sure that it's good.

Why would I ask you what you meant? I don't need to be taught how to listen to an album. You've no idea the musical context I'm coming from up to the point of listening to this album, but still you decided my not totally digging it so far was simply down to listening to it 'incorrectly'. I gave a fittingly succinct reply.

ok so ive had it on rotation for a few days now, and as a big VH fan i am bitterly dissapointed.

I cannot find 1 song on the album that is even remotley worthy of remaining on my playlist.

and i am sorry to say that as i have enjoyed every single song/abum/bside he has released up until this.

its time to hop off now i think.

"It's a surrealist's notion of soul: prog-rock swayed by R&B,

But what makes What? such a blast is hearing a talented craftsman indulge in his inner wild artist after years of playing nice."

Fauxie said:

duccichucka said:

You don't have to be a cunt: what I meant by that, if you had only asked, was that Van Hunt

does not subsist on writing catchy pop songs that are immediately accessible. So by listening

to it the way you would a jazz or classical music album, you could have a deeper appreciation

for what was happening musically. You don't approach a jazz album expecting to be taken in by

its accessibility; instead, you prepare yourself to think about what you are hearing.

Complaining that What Were You Hoping For? doesn't have appeal is silly; if it had a whole

bunch of Dusts, Slow Dances, Down Here in Hells, etc, and you still didn't find it appealing, then

your complaint would have merit. Hunt subsists on composition - you're listening to the album incorrectly.

And what is stupid is stating that you would not buy an album that didn't appeal to you: like,

who the hell buys albums because they don't?

I didn't say Van Hunt does subsist on writing catchy pop songs that are immediately accessible. You also have no idea how I approached listening to the album. I simply agreed with BlaqueKnight's sentiments. 'Popular' won me over instantly, and that was hardly full of catchy pop songs. I like Van Hunt going 'out there' away from, say, the fare on his first album, but it has to be good 'out there' for me to enjoy it. So far after 3 or 4 listens I'm just not sure that it's good.

Why would I ask you what you meant? I don't need to be taught how to listen to an album. You've no idea the musical context I'm coming from up to the point of listening to this album, but still you decided my not totally digging it so far was simply down to listening to it 'incorrectly'. I gave a fittingly succinct reply.

Okay, fine. If you listened to it 3 or 4 times and you discovered that you didn't like it, cool.

But agreeing with BlaqueKnight in bemoaning that a Van Hunt album isn't immediately appealing meant to me that you were hoping to listen to a simple pop record and not the efforts of a supremely talented musician whose albums require the attention one would give a jazz album:

this ain't Kind of Blue - this is Bitches Brew or On the Corner.

..............

I love where this dude is going; it may be too adventurous for some of y'all but he's an R&B

songwriter who is crushing shit right now: there is no writer today in R&B that can touch him.

I'll say it again: after four albums, he's indicating to me that he is an overall better songwriter

than Prince was after Controversy.

I just want to say Plum is my favorite track thus far. Anybody else feeling this one?

duccichucka said:

Fauxie said:

I didn't say Van Hunt does subsist on writing catchy pop songs that are immediately accessible. You also have no idea how I approached listening to the album. I simply agreed with BlaqueKnight's sentiments. 'Popular' won me over instantly, and that was hardly full of catchy pop songs. I like Van Hunt going 'out there' away from, say, the fare on his first album, but it has to be good 'out there' for me to enjoy it. So far after 3 or 4 listens I'm just not sure that it's good.

Why would I ask you what you meant? I don't need to be taught how to listen to an album. You've no idea the musical context I'm coming from up to the point of listening to this album, but still you decided my not totally digging it so far was simply down to listening to it 'incorrectly'. I gave a fittingly succinct reply.

Okay, fine. If you listened to it 3 or 4 times and you discovered that you didn't like it, cool.

But agreeing with BlaqueKnight in bemoaning that a Van Hunt album isn't immediately appealing meant to me that you were hoping to listen to a simple pop record and not the efforts of a supremely talented musician whose albums require the attention one would give a jazz album:

this ain't Kind of Blue - this is Bitches Brew or On the Corner.

..............

I love where this dude is going; it may be too adventurous for some of y'all but he's an R&B

songwriter who is crushing shit right now: there is no writer today in R&B that can touch him.

I'll say it again: after four albums, he's indicating to me that he is an overall better songwriter

than Prince was after Controversy.

I wouldn't argue or disagree with what I highlighted from your post.

Personally, I'm a funk fan more than I am a fan of any one artist. 9 times out of 10, I would rather be listening to funk than to someones' experimental venture. Its nothing personal and it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate that particular artist's work. It just means that it probably ain't going on the ipod.

I'm disappointed too. I've always admired Van's songwriting. His writing came across kind of weak this album.

I reluctantly bought it. I dig like 4 songs on it but like a few here said it won't be getting heavy

airplay on my playlist. I'm all for being different but i felt like Van was already there and he

didn't have to go as far left as he did on this one imo.

This might be my album of the year! I'm loving it! When shit throws me off, in a good way, I can't help but applaud it. This album is no exception. I'm loving St. Vincent's new album too, but this is crazy dope!!!!!!!!!!!

duccichucka said:

Fauxie said:

I didn't say Van Hunt does subsist on writing catchy pop songs that are immediately accessible. You also have no idea how I approached listening to the album. I simply agreed with BlaqueKnight's sentiments. 'Popular' won me over instantly, and that was hardly full of catchy pop songs. I like Van Hunt going 'out there' away from, say, the fare on his first album, but it has to be good 'out there' for me to enjoy it. So far after 3 or 4 listens I'm just not sure that it's good.

Why would I ask you what you meant? I don't need to be taught how to listen to an album. You've no idea the musical context I'm coming from up to the point of listening to this album, but still you decided my not totally digging it so far was simply down to listening to it 'incorrectly'. I gave a fittingly succinct reply.

Okay, fine. If you listened to it 3 or 4 times and you discovered that you didn't like it, cool.

But agreeing with BlaqueKnight in bemoaning that a Van Hunt album isn't immediately appealing meant to me that you were hoping to listen to a simple pop record and not the efforts of a supremely talented musician whose albums require the attention one would give a jazz album:

this ain't Kind of Blue - this is Bitches Brew or On the Corner.

..............

I love where this dude is going; it may be too adventurous for some of y'all but he's an R&B

songwriter who is crushing shit right now: there is no writer today in R&B that can touch him.

I'll say it again: after four albums, he's indicating to me that he is an overall better songwriter

than Prince was after Controversy.

I hate to say this on Prince.org, but I think Van Hunt is a better songwriter than Prince, period!

Tittypants said:

This might be my album of the year! I'm loving it! When shit throws me off, in a good way, I can't help but applaud it. This album is no exception. I'm loving St. Vincent's new album too, but this is crazy dope!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking the samething but Iwant to give it more timebefore Imakeit oficial. I'm surprised that many here aren't feeling this album. It's so good but it'strue that the songs aren't excatly catchy so they really require a few listens but I think it's great.Musically I think he has really steppeditup.

By the way, do you likeThe Knux? Thinking of getting that album next. It's similar in style but I think more pop sounding.

dancerella said:

Tittypants said:

This might be my album of the year! I'm loving it! When shit throws me off, in a good way, I can't help but applaud it. This album is no exception. I'm loving St. Vincent's new album too, but this is crazy dope!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm thinking the samething but Iwant to give it more timebefore Imakeit oficial. I'm surprised that many here aren't feeling this album. It's so good but it'strue that the songs aren't excatly catchy so they really require a few listens but I think it's great.Musically I think he has really steppeditup.

By the way, do you likeThe Knux? Thinking of getting that album next. It's similar in style but I think more pop sounding.

I agree with you, the year is not over yet. But so far, it's definitely a candidate. As far as the Knux, I've heard of them, but haven't yet gotten into them. I will soon though......

I agree with guys! I do think it could be the album of the year. I also love how it throws me out of my comfort zone. After the first listen I wasn't too sure what to make of it. I even told Van Hunt that himself, lol. But the more I listen to it the move I love it! Now it's just efficacious! I can't stop listening to it.

But I do think Van will lose some fans with this album. I think he'll also gain some fans. Those "R&B Junkies" so to speak are gonna be turned off by this album but the rockers are gonna pick it up. I remember before the album came out Van himself said he was most curious to see how his hardcore fan base would react to it. (which has been very positive)

As far as the Van Hunt vs Prince. I actually agree. Van Hunt is a better song-writer. The dude is just a brilliant song writer. 4 albums into his career I can say that confidently. I think Prince is more talented musician, but when comes to song writing Van Hunt wins!

Also I agree that 4 albums into Hunt's career he is ahead of Prince after his first 4 albums. Now of course Hunt is nearly twice the age that Prince was at the time of his 4th release. I'm not sure if age really does matter.... 4 albums is 4 albums! I guess you could say Hunt is more mature of an artists after his 4th release due to more experience in life and art. But album for album. Van Hunt wins each time! But again... it wasn't till Prince's 5th album that he really started making some masterpieces.

P2daP said:

I agree with guys! I do think it could be the album of the year. I also love how it throws me out of my comfort zone. After the first listen I wasn't too sure what to make of it. I even told Van Hunt that himself, lol. But the more I listen to it the move I love it! Now it's just efficacious! I can't stop listening to it.

But I do think Van will lose some fans with this album. I think he'll also gain some fans. Those "R&B Junkies" so to speak are gonna be turned off by this album but the rockers are gonna pick it up. I remember before the album came out Van himself said he was most curious to see how his hardcore fan base would react to it. (which has been very positive)

As far as the Van Hunt vs Prince. I actually agree. Van Hunt is a better song-writer. The dude is just a brilliant song writer. 4 albums into his career I can say that confidently. I think Prince is more talented musician, but when comes to song writing Van Hunt wins!

Also I agree that 4 albums into Hunt's career he is ahead of Prince after his first 4 albums. Now of course Hunt is nearly twice the age that Prince was at the time of his 4th release. I'm not sure if age really does matter.... 4 albums is 4 albums! I guess you could say Hunt is more mature of an artists after his 4th release due to more experience in life and art. But album for album. Van Hunt wins each time! But again... it wasn't till Prince's 5th album that he really started making some masterpieces.

I agree that Van Hunt's age does play a part. I'm pretty sure if he had been releasing albums since 18, we'd all have different opinions about his music today. But this album is really really friggin' awesome imho. People just hate change sometimes, or are not advanced enough musically to get it yet. I listened to it twice back to back this morning & I'm thinking about listening to it again right now.....

He really changed his sound. He may lose fans with this, beyond it being good.

BlaqueKnight said:

duccichucka said:

Okay, fine. If you listened to it 3 or 4 times and you discovered that you didn't like it, cool.

But agreeing with BlaqueKnight in bemoaning that a Van Hunt album isn't immediately appealing meant to me that you were hoping to listen to a simple pop record and not the efforts of a supremely talented musician whose albums require the attention one would give a jazz album:

this ain't Kind of Blue - this is Bitches Brew or On the Corner.

..............

I love where this dude is going; it may be too adventurous for some of y'all but he's an R&B

songwriter who is crushing shit right now: there is no writer today in R&B that can touch him.

I'll say it again: after four albums, he's indicating to me that he is an overall better songwriter

than Prince was after Controversy.

I wouldn't argue or disagree with what I highlighted from your post.

He is a helluva songwriter and I get the material. That said, its one thing to "get it" and another altogether to like it. Everyone has personal tastes and people don't have to disregard theirs just because an artist they like changes lanes. If he did a country album, I would still check it out but that doesn't mean I would run out, buy it and put it on heavy rotation.

Personally, I'm a funk fan more than I am a fan of any one artist. 9 times out of 10, I would rather be listening to funk than to someones' experimental venture. Its nothing personal and it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate that particular artist's work. It just means that it probably ain't going on the ipod.

I hear ya dawg; but what I'm saying is that when an artist like Hunt, who is a craftsman and

pays attention to what is intelligent songwriting and the intricacies of it, is not one who

you would listen to and say immediately his music was not appealing if you are approaching

his art as it was something written for mass consumption. My jazz analogy was too far out:

there is a difference in listening to Help! and Abbey Road.

There is a difference between listening to Dust and and the active listening needed for Dimples on Your Bottom.

duccichucka said:

I hear ya dawg; but what I'm saying is that when an artist like Hunt, who is a craftsman and

pays attention to what is intelligent songwriting and the intricacies of it, is not one who

you would listen to and say immediately his music was not appealing if you are approaching

his art as it was something written for mass consumption. My jazz analogy was too far out:

there is a difference in listening to Help! and Abbey Road.

There is a difference between listening to Dust and and the active listening needed for Dimples on Your Bottom.

I'm going back in on it again, today. I'm not going to be guilty of what I have called others out for - which is surface listening then making a call on a record. Its definitely worthy of a few spins considering the source.

Tittypants said:

duccichucka said:

Okay, fine. If you listened to it 3 or 4 times and you discovered that you didn't like it, cool.

But agreeing with BlaqueKnight in bemoaning that a Van Hunt album isn't immediately appealing meant to me that you were hoping to listen to a simple pop record and not the efforts of a supremely talented musician whose albums require the attention one would give a jazz album:

this ain't Kind of Blue - this is Bitches Brew or On the Corner.

..............

I love where this dude is going; it may be too adventurous for some of y'all but he's an R&B

songwriter who is crushing shit right now: there is no writer today in R&B that can touch him.

I'll say it again: after four albums, he's indicating to me that he is an overall better songwriter

than Prince was after Controversy.

I hate to say this on Prince.org, but I think Van Hunt is a better songwriter than Prince, period!

I got your back on this one.

Tittypants said:

duccichucka said:

Okay, fine. If you listened to it 3 or 4 times and you discovered that you didn't like it, cool.

But agreeing with BlaqueKnight in bemoaning that a Van Hunt album isn't immediately appealing meant to me that you were hoping to listen to a simple pop record and not the efforts of a supremely talented musician whose albums require the attention one would give a jazz album:

this ain't Kind of Blue - this is Bitches Brew or On the Corner.

..............

I love where this dude is going; it may be too adventurous for some of y'all but he's an R&B

songwriter who is crushing shit right now: there is no writer today in R&B that can touch him.

I'll say it again: after four albums, he's indicating to me that he is an overall better songwriter

than Prince was after Controversy.

I hate to say this on Prince.org, but I think Van Hunt is a better songwriter than Prince, period!

Since '97................I won't argue that.

2freaky4church1 said:

He really changed his sound. He may lose fans with this, beyond it being good.

I don't think he has a ton of fans as it is so in other words he has nothing to lose.

Okay. I've listened to it again. My thoughts:

In North Hollywood, Van goes from Parliament to Kravitz and back to Parliament - Van Hunt style. Its an interesting song but it seems a little lyrically lazy for Van.

I simply do not like Watching You Go Crazy. If the whole record was like this, I wouldn't even bother. If it were any other artist, I wouldn't have even bothered with this song.

I like the rhythm of Designer Jeans. Scratch that, I LOVE the rhythm. That's a cool ass beat. The lyrics are very good, too. I kinda laughed when I heard the guitars with that Pulp Fiction soundtrack feeling to them. Van Hunt does surf rock over a hot beat? The distortion on the drums as the beat rides out at the end was very cool. Very Reznor-esque in a Van Hunt way.

I ALMOST really like Plum. I think he overdid it with the high pass filter EQ settings on the guitar. Personally, I think it would have sounded better with the guitars dry or at least not suffocated. That is a killer unison lick in the middle of the song, too!
I say "hi booty" Cute, Van. Clever. There are a lot of country styled licks on guitar in this song. Not sure how well that will go over but expression is expression - if thats what he felt, so be it. The chorus progressions remind me of Jane Child. There are some really cool exchanges going on at the end of the song that will be overlooked because of the sonic placement. Bad EQ decision.

Falls is another one that would have gotten shut off immediately if it wasn't Van Hunt. I'm really not into folk songs no matter how you dress them up. While his lyrics are classic Van Hunt, the music is a big ass turn off for me.

I'm not gonna lie - listening to Moving Targets had me waiting for Phil Collins to start singing. Again, the EQ and the reverb were overused. The strings were very nice and its a shame to hear them washed out just for effect. I like this one more after another listen.

Eyes Like Pearls is Van Hunt in Sananda mode. Its a good track and definitely better vocally than some of the other songs. I think its probably the most easily relatable song on the record, although he will be alienating fans of his soul work with this whole record overall. This is probably his best "single" record.

A Time Machine Is My New Girlfriend...NEXT. While the progressions were outstanding in comparison to most modern rock songs, I thought some of the lyrics were so absurd they were borderline comical. It starts to shape up towards the end lyrically but its still pretty "out there" and again, this is a rock song and in no way R&B. I did like that line "I'm ageless as emotion". Pretty clever. Well, he usually is anyway. The overall lo-fi sound quality of the song hurts it as well, IMO. Its difficult to listen to unless you listen to songs of that sonic texture often.

What Were You Hoping For - a nice bouncy rock and roll song with a blanket thrown over it. Geez Van, WTF? DUDE, STOP IT WITH THE HIGH PASS FILTERS. That shit DOES NOT SOUND GOOD ON EVERY SONG. Its sooo overused at this point, its gimmicky. Its like listening to an album full of autotune.
This song could have been so much more interesting if he didn't push everything sonically into the upper mid register.

Cross Dresser is Van Hunt's "Dirty Mind" in a sense in that it has that same experimental quality mixed with driving beats and controversial-ish lyrics. Again, with the EQ? Somebody kick Van out of the mixing room.

Its a Mysterious Hustle has some very interesting progressions. As a matter of fact, Van's progressions are far more interesting than most artists. He is a progression master. Prince could learn a thing or two from him in this department. I think he went light on the vocals on this song. This is another song that would have been far more moving if the bass had been clearer. The potential was there but like with most of the other songs on this record, the bass is sucked out of it and everything except the drums is pushed sonically into the upper-mid register. Lyrically, it sounds like he was taking a few shots at the music business. I like that.

I'm not sure who the engineer is on this record but he/she/it needs to be fired. I think the mix detracted from the songs in a lot of instances and made what would have been great songs just good and what would have been okay songs intolerable. After this listen, I'm sure that a lot of R&B fans who are more traditional won't even listen to this record more than once. Its not really an R&B record. Its definitely not a funk record. I'll probably pick it up out of support but its a shame to have so many musical ideas smothered by the horrible sonic tonal choice. It would be like listening to Talking Book in lo-fi. Lo-fi is not your friend, Van. It worked on a couple of songs and in places on Popular but its so overused here that its disappointing. This is why some artists need labels. This is why Prince needed WB at times - to tell him when he was making bad choices. Perhaps when an artist is so engulfed in the making of the music, they don't have the objective perspective to stand back and recognize what does and doesn't work. I wish him the best and if and when he tours, I'm going to the show. I'm still not fully on board with this record like I wasn't on board with TTD's "Neither Fish Nor Flesh" - but I kept listening. I will keep listening to Van Hunt as well.

BlaqueKnight said:

I'll probably pick it up out of support but its a shame to have so many musical ideas smothered by the horrible sonic tonal choice. It would be like listening to Talking Book in lo-fi. Lo-fi is not your friend, Van.

That is what bothers me most about this release. the mix is strange 2 say the least.

Graycap23 said:

BlaqueKnight said:

I'll probably pick it up out of support but its a shame to have so many musical ideas smothered by the horrible sonic tonal choice. It would be like listening to Talking Book in lo-fi. Lo-fi is not your friend, Van.

That is what bothers me most about this release. the mix is strange 2 say the least.

It's very weirdly mixed. But at least it sounds mixed...unlike "20Ten"

duccichucka said:

BlaqueKnight said:

I wouldn't argue or disagree with what I highlighted from your post.

He is a helluva songwriter and I get the material. That said, its one thing to "get it" and another altogether to like it. Everyone has personal tastes and people don't have to disregard theirs just because an artist they like changes lanes. If he did a country album, I would still check it out but that doesn't mean I would run out, buy it and put it on heavy rotation.

Personally, I'm a funk fan more than I am a fan of any one artist. 9 times out of 10, I would rather be listening to funk than to someones' experimental venture. Its nothing personal and it doesn't mean that I can't appreciate that particular artist's work. It just means that it probably ain't going on the ipod.

I hear ya dawg; but what I'm saying is that when an artist like Hunt, who is a craftsman and

pays attention to what is intelligent songwriting and the intricacies of it, is not one who

you would listen to and say immediately his music was not appealing if you are approaching

his art as it was something written for mass consumption. My jazz analogy was too far out:

there is a difference in listening to Help! and Abbey Road.

There is a difference between listening to Dust and and the active listening needed for Dimples on Your Bottom.

I don't think his song writing was particularly strong on this album. He didn't focus in his strong point which is his song writing. Seems like he was more concerned with being left field.

It is a natural progression from Popular, those that didn't hear Popular may be thrown off a bit, and i agree with the album of the year statement.

Tittypants said:

Graycap23 said:

That is what bothers me most about this release. the mix is strange 2 say the least.

It's very weirdly mixed. But at least it sounds mixed...unlike "20Ten"

"20ten" didn't sound mixed to you, the difference in perception is a powerful thing. Are you an engineer? Maybe you hear it different than me for a reason. Albums should be mixed to give the album character imo, not just perfect placement of sound levels. The last comment is regarding BlaqKnight comment on the EQ settings for Plumb which I really enjoyed. I think listening to things as a musician or expert can cloud out judgment, I try to listen simply as a music lover.

Meloh9 said:

Tittypants said:

It's very weirdly mixed. But at least it sounds mixed...unlike "20Ten"

"20ten" didn't sound mixed to you, the difference in perception is a powerful thing. Are you an engineer? Maybe you hear it different than me for a reason. Albums should be mixed to give the album character imo, not just perfect placement of sound levels. The last comment is regarding BlaqKnight comment on the EQ settings for Plumb which I really enjoyed. I think listening to things as a musician or expert can cloud out judgment, I try to listen simply as a music lover.

Well, I do make music myself. But "20TEN" was possibly Prince's worse album "mixing & mastering wise". That's part of the reason a lot of people hate that album, they just don't know it because they don't know those aspects of recording. I've enjoyed the mixing on this Van Hunt because it was an adventuress mix. Prince didn't even really try with "20Ten" though, which is why it lacked, as you said, Character.

Tittypants said:

Meloh9 said:

"20ten" didn't sound mixed to you, the difference in perception is a powerful thing. Are you an engineer? Maybe you hear it different than me for a reason. Albums should be mixed to give the album character imo, not just perfect placement of sound levels. The last comment is regarding BlaqKnight comment on the EQ settings for Plumb which I really enjoyed. I think listening to things as a musician or expert can cloud out judgment, I try to listen simply as a music lover.

Well, I do make music myself. But "20TEN" was possibly Prince's worse album "mixing & mastering wise". That's part of the reason a lot of people hate that album, they just don't know it because they don't know those aspects of recording. I've enjoyed the mixing on this Van Hunt because it was an adventuress mix. Prince didn't even really try with "20Ten" though, which is why it lacked, as you said, Character.

I pick up on everything, something on 20ten was a bit different, but at the same time there was something I liked about it. It almost, dare I say, had an analog feel.. kind of like if I recorded a vinyl album to cassette and gave it to a friend. If you turn it up, it distorts slightly, I believe. Home studio as opposed to pro studio. I bet it was mixed with pro tools or something he is not used to. Idk Sticky Like Glue is a jam to me either way.

Meloh9 said:

Tittypants said:

Well, I do make music myself. But "20TEN" was possibly Prince's worse album "mixing & mastering wise". That's part of the reason a lot of people hate that album, they just don't know it because they don't know those aspects of recording. I've enjoyed the mixing on this Van Hunt because it was an adventuress mix. Prince didn't even really try with "20Ten" though, which is why it lacked, as you said, Character.

I pick up on everything, something on 20ten was a bit different, but at the same time there was something I liked about it. It almost, dare I say, had an analog feel.. kind of like if I recorded a vinyl album to cassette and gave it to a friend. If you turn it up, it distorts slightly, I believe. Home studio as opposed to pro studio. I bet it was mixed with pro tools or something he is not used to. Idk Sticky Like Glue is a jam to me either way.

I liked the album mostly. It's just hard to listen because of the mix imho.

BlaqueKnight said:

Okay. I've listened to it again. My thoughts:

In North Hollywood, Van goes from Parliament to Kravitz and back to Parliament - Van Hunt style. Its an interesting song but it seems a little lyrically lazy for Van.

I simply do not like Watching You Go Crazy. If the whole record was like this, I wouldn't even bother. If it were any other artist, I wouldn't have even bothered with this song.

I like the rhythm of Designer Jeans. Scratch that, I LOVE the rhythm. That's a cool ass beat. The lyrics are very good, too. I kinda laughed when I heard the guitars with that Pulp Fiction soundtrack feeling to them. Van Hunt does surf rock over a hot beat? The distortion on the drums as the beat rides out at the end was very cool. Very Reznor-esque in a Van Hunt way.

I ALMOST really like Plum. I think he overdid it with the high pass filter EQ settings on the guitar. Personally, I think it would have sounded better with the guitars dry or at least not suffocated. That is a killer unison lick in the middle of the song, too!
I say "hi booty" Cute, Van. Clever. There are a lot of country styled licks on guitar in this song. Not sure how well that will go over but expression is expression - if thats what he felt, so be it. The chorus progressions remind me of Jane Child. There are some really cool exchanges going on at the end of the song that will be overlooked because of the sonic placement. Bad EQ decision.

Falls is another one that would have gotten shut off immediately if it wasn't Van Hunt. I'm really not into folk songs no matter how you dress them up. While his lyrics are classic Van Hunt, the music is a big ass turn off for me.

I'm not gonna lie - listening to Moving Targets had me waiting for Phil Collins to start singing. Again, the EQ and the reverb were overused. The strings were very nice and its a shame to hear them washed out just for effect. I like this one more after another listen.

Eyes Like Pearls is Van Hunt in Sananda mode. Its a good track and definitely better vocally than some of the other songs. I think its probably the most easily relatable song on the record, although he will be alienating fans of his soul work with this whole record overall. This is probably his best "single" record.

A Time Machine Is My New Girlfriend...NEXT. While the progressions were outstanding in comparison to most modern rock songs, I thought some of the lyrics were so absurd they were borderline comical. It starts to shape up towards the end lyrically but its still pretty "out there" and again, this is a rock song and in no way R&B. I did like that line "I'm ageless as emotion". Pretty clever. Well, he usually is anyway. The overall lo-fi sound quality of the song hurts it as well, IMO. Its difficult to listen to unless you listen to songs of that sonic texture often.

What Were You Hoping For - a nice bouncy rock and roll song with a blanket thrown over it. Geez Van, WTF? DUDE, STOP IT WITH THE HIGH PASS FILTERS. That shit DOES NOT SOUND GOOD ON EVERY SONG. Its sooo overused at this point, its gimmicky. Its like listening to an album full of autotune.
This song could have been so much more interesting if he didn't push everything sonically into the upper mid register.

Cross Dresser is Van Hunt's "Dirty Mind" in a sense in that it has that same experimental quality mixed with driving beats and controversial-ish lyrics. Again, with the EQ? Somebody kick Van out of the mixing room.

Its a Mysterious Hustle has some very interesting progressions. As a matter of fact, Van's progressions are far more interesting than most artists. He is a progression master. Prince could learn a thing or two from him in this department. I think he went light on the vocals on this song. This is another song that would have been far more moving if the bass had been clearer. The potential was there but like with most of the other songs on this record, the bass is sucked out of it and everything except the drums is pushed sonically into the upper-mid register. Lyrically, it sounds like he was taking a few shots at the music business. I like that.

I'm not sure who the engineer is on this record but he/she/it needs to be fired. I think the mix detracted from the songs in a lot of instances and made what would have been great songs just good and what would have been okay songs intolerable. After this listen, I'm sure that a lot of R&B fans who are more traditional won't even listen to this record more than once. Its not really an R&B record. Its definitely not a funk record. I'll probably pick it up out of support but its a shame to have so many musical ideas smothered by the horrible sonic tonal choice. It would be like listening to Talking Book in lo-fi. Lo-fi is not your friend, Van. It worked on a couple of songs and in places on Popular but its so overused here that its disappointing. This is why some artists need labels. This is why Prince needed WB at times - to tell him when he was making bad choices. Perhaps when an artist is so engulfed in the making of the music, they don't have the objective perspective to stand back and recognize what does and doesn't work. I wish him the best and if and when he tours, I'm going to the show. I'm still not fully on board with this record like I wasn't on board with TTD's "Neither Fish Nor Flesh" - but I kept listening. I will keep listening to Van Hunt as well.

I agree with most of your review. However, I just wanted to let you know that "It's Mysterious Hustle" has nothing to do with the music industry. Here's a direct quote from Van himself from a recent interview with soulmusic.com where he talks about some of the tracks on the album:

ML: The last song on there, “Mysterious Hustle”. Man, is that like… I don’t want to say autobiographical. I guess in some ways it talks about what we all go through.

VH: Yeah. I’m a father, so the song for me—and I hope it doesn’t ruin it for anybody—is directly spoken to my son.

Here's the rest of the article:

http://www.soulmusic.com/vanhu20soin.html