rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said: On the Jungle Floor beats out Popular as my favorite Van Hunt album. I'm warming up to WWYHF, but it's still a distant fourth at this point.

I quite like Popular so I'll be getting On the Jungle Floor eventually.

What was this cat doing for most of the '90s? Seems like he was a bit of a late bloomer.

Van was working behind the scenes back then. His biggest '90s success was writing "Hopeless" by Dionne Farris. He also wrote "Mean Sleep" with Cree Summer, a duet between her and Lenny Kravitz. He covered "Mean Sleep" with Nikka Costa on OTJF.

rialb said:

AlexdeParis said:

rialb said: On the Jungle Floor beats out Popular as my favorite Van Hunt album. I'm warming up to WWYHF, but it's still a distant fourth at this point.

I quite like Popular so I'll be getting On the Jungle Floor eventually.

What was this cat doing for most of the '90s? Seems like he was a bit of a late bloomer.

As the poster above said in the mid 90's he was penning song for others. Signed with Capitol in the late 90's and finished his self titled debut in 1999, but then spent the next 5 years fighting with Capitol over how it should sound, basically I think they wanted a more commercial sound or at least commercial to what they thought Van Hunt should be targeted to. Van said recently that the "Van Hunt" album wasn't really how he wanted it sound like and that he changed more then he cared too.

Some of the original versions of the songs have sinced appeared. Van released the original version of "Anything (to get your attention)" on his vault album "Use in Case of Emergency"

Version that appeared on album

Van's original version

[Edited 10/8/11 21:45pm]

Dang, his first album sat on a shelf for five years? That stinks.

Any idea how different the 1999 version was from the released version? I'm guessing that while he was waiting he was tweaking songs and writing new ones and removed and replaced at least one song from the original album.

Not sure, but Van did say he fought over every single song on the album with the label. He's played different version at live shows but I'm not sure in those were the ones originally intended for the album. I know he wrote some of the songs that appeared on "On the Juggle Floor" during that period. I believe "Character" was done in 1999.

Below is an alternate version of "Her December" but like I've said sure if it's the original or not. It's still a cool verison though!

[Edited 10/9/11 10:00am]

BlaqueKnight said:

Meloh9 said:

And this is where the Prince comparison comes in. We can argue that Prince abandoned the R&B audience with the album Dirty Mind, he had just had a top Ten R&B hit the previous year. Dirty Mind is not an R&B album, it has funk, as we know, but especially for the time of it's release it was not an album one could market to the R&B audiences. Same with what were you hoping for, it has some funk on it, but is primarily a punk rock album with playful embellishments that flirt with other genres. I am not sure that Van held onto a primarily R&B audience, but if that is the case, it seems he is pulling a Dirty Mind, and seeking to establish his own audience that simply want to hear Van Hunt, regardless of classification.

I don't know how old you are but funk and R&B went hand-in-hand back then. Head was funk, which made it R&B friendly; so was Party Up Uptown was "poppy" rock/R&B. I'm sorry but Van's musical venture is completely off the grid. Plum and Eyes Like Pearls might get a pass but the rest of the record is very "alt". Prince was never that far off the course in his earlier years. He waited until he "made it" to take major chances, hence my comparison to ATWIAD rather than Dirty Mind. But even more of a departure is the MIX. The way it was mixed is very, very niche. The sonic texture alone can be a turn off to some.

[Edited 10/7/11 21:18pm]

What I meant by the comparison is that both albums represent a radical departure in styles for the artist. First of all the song Head musically and stylistically may have been funk and R&B friendly as you stated, but the explicit nature of the song made it something that radio was afraid of. Prince began to push the envelope more so than he ever had on his two previous albums, he went from being a shy introvert with sexual undertones, to a full blown sexually explicit punk rebel. I don’t see how any hardcore Prince fan can look back at his history and state that he waited till he made it to take chances, the very nature of Princes career, as early as the Dirty Mind was to take risk, be different, edgy and even shocking. Uptown and Head may have appeal to the black charts, however let us not forget it also contained tracks like When You Were Mine that Prince himself compared to country as far as the rhythm licks, and the edgy puck rocker “Sister” a song about incest with is in itself risqué. Not to mention that there are a lot of non musical factors to consider like the fact that his half nude stage attire and androgynous look on stage made him even more of something of a new wave funk punk rebel figure which pushed him further away from the standard R&B audience. Not to mention that his performances themselves from the Dirty Mind and Controversy era became more risqué and the sound of the live shows at the time were more rock oriented with heavy guitar solos. The Dirty Mind shows had a young punk rebellious rock and roll feel to them. That was a big jump for people who were expecting the R&B dance of I Want to Be Your Lover. Prince’s management at the time had to hire a promoter to generate interviews for Dirty Mind, again the album was considered radical at the time and people were afraid to touch it. If anything he conceived The Time as a way to play it safe and appeal to the black R&B charts and all of this has been well documented.

Also the fact that Van already further departed from his earlier more “Neo Soul” sound if you even want to lump him in that category, had already been established on Popular, not to mention a five year break in-between Popular, where is though Prince in comparison, wasted no time in between albums and had no real struggle with the label at the time. So with that said, Dirty Mind at the time of it’s conception would have been even more of a departure because he jumped into a bold new direction the next year with no gap between albums. Around The World In a Day represents a already established artist incorporating more of a psychedelic Beatles influence style as a means to establish a new direction so as not to repeat himself and simply put out another Purple Rain. Van at this point in his career, only has a cult following, much like Prince in his early Dirty Mind, Controversy days, which is even another reason to compare those eras if we are to make comparisons at all. I am still introducing people to Van Hunt who have never heard of him, he is far from a house hold name.

As far as my age I just turned 36 the Saturday before last. In this case I think my age is somewhat irrelevant. I can play instruments. Music is my first love. I have been literally studying Prince since I was eleven years of age. I try not to be a musical elitist these days and look down on younger people with a “you had to be there mentality”. For one, any journalist, teacher or historian who is well studied on a subject can speak freely on the history of a subject without even having to live during the era. All of the points I am bringing up about Dirty Mind is well known information and I have seen and own the boots to the Dirty Mind and Controversy shows. Comparing it to Van Hunt at this stage in his career is perfectly logical as far as I'm concerned.

I have read almost all the posts in this thread and happily anticipated listening to this beast since I've loved Hunt's entire catelog to date. After a week of listening, I am just not sold. I respect a lot of the people's taste within this thread that are championing the work but it's leaving me very cold. For me, the verdict is still not out....Stay tuned.

[Edited 10/9/11 19:47pm]

With all due respect, Meloh, I was not trying to be condescending by asking your age but rather trying to gain an understanding of whether or not you were actually around to take into consideration the tone of music as a whole during that era. Its a commonplace trait for those who weren't there to view in retrospect and usually unintentionally not take into consideration what was going on on the whole and not just partaining specifically to the subject.
Viewing in retrospect is NOT on par with having have lived through and experienced any given era of time and how events and culture reflect it.

It was not Prince's music that was causing controversy back during his Dirty Mind era but rather his overtly sexually explicit lyrics and subject matter. Prince was not the first artist to blend musical genres. Parliament and Funkadelic had been doing this years before Prince and so were other artists. A lot of things coincided; technology advancements in synthesizers, etc. as well as things that were going on in the world - they all played a part in how everything went down. It was a big change for Prince but not for R&B music itself. Prince was not in some kind of musical bubble.

I understand your comparisons between Prince and Van in terms of a departure of style within their own careers and I can somewhat agree with some of what you say, however, as I stated, Prince didn't go completely off the grid. Van has. When all is said and done - with the music that was being played and the experimental stage R&B was going through with people like Rick James, Cameo, The Bar-Kays, Zapp, Lakeside, The GAP band and many others, Prince's "different" sound registered as "signature" with most at the time. Given where R&B is now and how overly compartmentalized it is, Van's sound on this record will register as "not R&B" rather than signature. "Dirty Mind" was an R&B hybrid record. I will stand on that with both feet. Given the changes that were taking place in R&B at the time, it falls in with what was considered "experimental" but still fell within the definitions of what R&B was at the time. W.W.Y.H.F. is not at R&B record at all. The current crowd of R&B enthusiasts won't call this R&B. The past R&B enthusiasts of Prince's "Dirty Mind" era would call Dirty Mind hybrid R&B. It was the lyrics, style and overt sexuality that shocked people back then - not the music. It was cool but not shocking, nor was it considered something that had never been (musically) done back then.
I suppose we can agree to disagree but that is how I see it.

With regards to VAn Hunt, it does not detract from the content of the material, it just simply leaves to question the category it falls under.

[Edited 10/10/11 1:27am]

BlaqueKnight said:

With all due respect, Meloh, I was not trying to be condescending by asking your age but rather trying to gain an understanding of whether or not you were actually around to take into consideration the tone of music as a whole during that era. Its a commonplace trait for those who weren't there to view in retrospect and usually unintentionally not take into consideration what was going on on the whole and not just partaining specifically to the subject.
Viewing in retrospect is NOT on par with having have lived through and experienced any given era of time and how events and culture reflect it.

It was not Prince's music that was causing controversy back during his Dirty Mind era but rather his overtly sexually explicit lyrics and subject matter. Prince was not the first artist to blend musical genres. Parliament and Funkadelic had been doing this years before Prince and so were other artists. A lot of things coincided; technology advancements in synthesizers, etc. as well as things that were going on in the world - they all played a part in how everything went down. It was a big change for Prince but not for R&B music itself. Prince was not in some kind of musical bubble.

I understand your comparisons between Prince and Van in terms of a departure of style within their own careers and I can somewhat agree with some of what you say, however, as I stated, Prince didn't go completely off the grid. Van has. When all is said and done - with the music that was being played and the experimental stage R&B was going through with people like Rick James, Cameo, The Bar-Kays, Zapp, Lakeside, The GAP band and many others, Prince's "different" sound registered as "signature" with most at the time. Given where R&B is now and how overly compartmentalized it is, Van's sound on this record will register as "not R&B" rather than signature. "Dirty Mind" was an R&B hybrid record. I will stand on that with both feet. Given the changes that were taking place in R&B at the time, it falls in with what was considered "experimental" but still fell within the definitions of what R&B was at the time. W.W.Y.H.F. is not at R&B record at all. The current crowd of R&B enthusiasts won't call this R&B. The past R&B enthusiasts of Prince's "Dirty Mind" era would call Dirty Mind hybrid R&B. It was the lyrics, style and overt sexuality that shocked people back then - not the music. It was cool but not shocking, nor was it considered something that had never been (musically) done back then.
I suppose we can agree to disagree but that is how I see it.

With regards to VAn Hunt, it does not detract from the content of the material, it just simply leaves to question the category it falls under.

[Edited 10/10/11 1:27am]

I took no offence to being question about my age and I realized that it could come of that way with my style of ranting after I hit the enter button. I was just trying to say that as I get older I am trying not to be a music elitist and develop a “what do you know about such and such mentality” but I guess that’s irrelevant to add to the topic we were on, just the age thing reminded me of that, that way of thinking can develop a classic blind spot in my opinion.

I dig the agree to disagree but I want to point one more thing, while stylistically Prince is not the first to blend styles into a hybrid ( I am Parliament Funkadelic/Sly Stone fanatic and walking and P Funk encyclopedia btw ) I just feel that to a most of the black audiences loyal to the R&B sound, while you and me know that musically it’s not that much of a shift, many were turned off even by the sound of some of his recordings, for them it may as well be a highly experimental record. I remember comments people would make as a kid about Prince, sometimes even after the height of his popularity about sounding too rock and roll, some even told me they thought If I was Your Girlfriend was “strange”. I do believe there may have been an underground scene at the time that was looking for something different, but I doubt they made up the majority.

Also like I said in a previous post, something about it just doesn’t sound all that off the grid to me. I do think it is bold and takes chances. But I guess that is what happens to your ears when you have been exposed to early Sonny Sharrock and free Jazz etc I am a very eclectic listener so I must have got into something at some point that made me feel like it’s not all that different. I think today’s general audience of music listeners post Love Below and in a era of B.O.B and pop acts like Black Eye Peas, this is the most open eclectic I have ever seen R&B/black audiences to rock/pop/electronic and such. All in all I agree that those expecting another Character, this album is going to come off as a shocker.

Peace. =)

Meh. This guy seems more like a Maxwell than a Prince to me. A lot of people on here act like he's the next big thing since the wheel, but I find him boring.

Meloh9 said:

Peace. =)

Respect. [img:$uid]http://i56.tinypic.com/2mfbko.jpg[/img:$uid]

ScarletScandal said:

Meh. This guy seems more like a Maxwell than a Prince to me. A lot of people on here act like he's the next big thing since the wheel, but I find him boring.

Please explain the comparison to Maxwell. Be specific, please.

BlaqueKnight said:

ScarletScandal said:

Meh. This guy seems more like a Maxwell than a Prince to me. A lot of people on here act like he's the next big thing since the wheel, but I find him boring.

Please explain the comparison to Maxwell. Be specific, please.

I mostly meant vocally. From a musical stand point, that also sound like songs Maxwell would do. I'd say more like a Lenny Kravitz/Maxwell hybrid. I really don't see the comparison to Prince.

ScarletScandal said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Please explain the comparison to Maxwell. Be specific, please.

I mostly meant vocally. From a musical stand point, that also sound like songs Maxwell would do. I'd say more like a Lenny Kravitz/Maxwell hybrid. I really don't see the comparison to Prince.

Which songs would Maxwell do?

The comparison to Prince is not in terms of sound but in terms of musical adventurousness. He is not "doing Prince" like some lame ass imitator. He is doing Van Hunt.

With Lenny, you might be able to make a case but with Maxwell? Please proceed...and be specific.

BlaqueKnight said:

ScarletScandal said:

I mostly meant vocally. From a musical stand point, that also sound like songs Maxwell would do. I'd say more like a Lenny Kravitz/Maxwell hybrid. I really don't see the comparison to Prince.

Which songs would Maxwell do?

The comparison to Prince is not in terms of sound but in terms of musical adventurousness. He is not "doing Prince" like some lame ass imitator. He is doing Van Hunt.

With Lenny, you might be able to make a case but with Maxwell? Please proceed...and be specific.

Oh. okay. Well, his voice reminds me of Maxwell. And as far as being musically adventerous, I think it is better to say that than to say that he's made the Prince album we've been waiting for blah blah blah. When I saw him being compared to Prince in the title, it made me expect something that wasn't delivered. If anybody recently has put out something I would've wanted to hear from Prince, it would have been J-Davey's Evil Christian Cop, but that's just my opinion.

ScarletScandal said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Which songs would Maxwell do?

The comparison to Prince is not in terms of sound but in terms of musical adventurousness. He is not "doing Prince" like some lame ass imitator. He is doing Van Hunt.

With Lenny, you might be able to make a case but with Maxwell? Please proceed...and be specific.

Oh. okay. Well, his voice reminds me of Maxwell. And as far as being musically adventerous, I think it is better to say that than to say that he's made the Prince album we've been waiting for blah blah blah. When I saw him being compared to Prince in the title, it made me expect something that wasn't delivered. If anybody recently has put out something I would've wanted to hear from Prince, it would have been J-Davey's Evil Christian Cop, but that's just my opinion.

I agree with that.

BlaqueKnight said:

ScarletScandal said:

Oh. okay. Well, his voice reminds me of Maxwell. And as far as being musically adventerous, I think it is better to say that than to say that he's made the Prince album we've been waiting for blah blah blah. When I saw him being compared to Prince in the title, it made me expect something that wasn't delivered. If anybody recently has put out something I would've wanted to hear from Prince, it would have been J-Davey's Evil Christian Cop, but that's just my opinion.

I agree with that.

I'm waiting for Prince to make the Prince album we've been waiting for

ScarletScandal said:

BlaqueKnight said:

I agree with that.

I'm waiting for Prince to make the Prince album we've been waiting for

For me he came tantalisingly close with Lotusflow3r.

For me the only song that makes me want to put on repeat is Eyes Like Pearls.

I like North Hollywood and Moving Targets but i felt he could have put a little more

juice in it. What i don't like about North Hollywood is the weird change in between.

The rest of the album is meh.

rialb said:

ScarletScandal said:

I'm waiting for Prince to make the Prince album we've been waiting for

For me he came tantalisingly close with Lotusflow3r.

I really like 20Ten

ScarletScandal said:

rialb said:

For me he came tantalisingly close with Lotusflow3r.

I really like 20Ten

Oh, I quite like it too. I think that the Lotusflow3r 3 album package would have been much better if 20Ten had been in there rather than MPLSoUND. I'm one of those people that believe that 20Ten was MPLSoUND done right.

The reason I am singling Lotusflow3r (the individual album) out is because I really want Prince to do a straight up rock album. Prior to Lotusflow3r for me the closest he came was the first side of Chaos and Disorder. Lotusflow3r was very close to what I wanted but not quite but it is probably as close as he is ever going to get.

...And ten years from now, Van Hunts' "What Were You Hoping For" will be considered a classic....watch!

[Edited 10/11/11 3:57am]

BlaqueKnight said:

tricky99 said:

Some are acting like Van Hunt is the second coming. I just don't hear that at all. He is certainly making music "outside of the box" but I don't hear classic songs or even emotionally moving songs. The brother is talented but he is not a legend in the making as some of you would have it. Really at 40-plus if he was really all that he would already be considerd one.

I disagree.

The fact that you think someone would already be considered a musical legend based on his age brings to question your understanding of the business side of music. There are great artists walking around with 10-20 CDs recorded that only a handful of people know. Lack of popularity does not have a bearing on quality of work. If Stevie Wonder only recorded Talking Book, he'd still be a genius. If only 10 people bought it, it would still be a brilliant record.

As to the classic songs thing - I hear them. The quality is there even if the popularity isn't. If songs like "Down Here In Hell" got the same amount of rotation as Lil Wayne and Trey Songz get, it would EASILY become a classic, outlasting anything by Lil Wayne or Trey Songz.

Van on keys and vocals


Van on Bass and vocals


Van on guitar on vocals

Come on. Dude is the truth. He's not a "2nd coming" - he's his own artist.

For someone to be a legend they usually start on that road in their youth and acheive a level of general awareness that VH will not meet. Most legends have hit songs and different periods in their work that people look back too. VH started too late (for whatever reasons), has no hits, has no visual history, and has a small following. That isn't the road to being a "legend".

The brother is talented and has wrriten some good songs. Does he have any classic songs? No. Will he have any classic songs? Not likely. "Genius" appears early. what we are hearing is someone who has worked on his craft for probably 20 plus years just now being heard. Its great that he his getting his music out but genius is heard early and boldly.

rialb said:

ScarletScandal said:

I really like 20Ten

Oh, I quite like it too. I think that the Lotusflow3r 3 album package would have been much better if 20Ten had been in there rather than MPLSoUND. I'm one of those people that believe that 20Ten was MPLSoUND done right.

Actually, I've thought the same thing

tricky99 said:

\

For someone to be a legend they usually start on that road in their youth and acheive a level of general awareness that VH will not meet. Most legends have hit songs and different periods in their work that people look back too. VH started too late (for whatever reasons), has no hits, has no visual history, and has a small following. That isn't the road to being a "legend".

The brother is talented and has wrriten some good songs. Does he have any classic songs? No. Will he have any classic songs? Not likely. "Genius" appears early. what we are hearing is someone who has worked on his craft for probably 20 plus years just now being heard. Its great that he his getting his music out but genius is heard early and boldly.

Your ideas with regards to the term "genius" seem to be quite off base. I suggest you refrain from using it. You are associating musical ability with popularity - and that couldn't be more wrong. Many geniuses, be they musical or whatever - can go most of their lives only beknownst to a small circle of people. What you are referring to is a child prodigy - someone who displays extraordinary ability at a young age. There are a lot more of them than you think. They don't all make the nightly news. As far as music goes - not all of them become successful. Some become teachers and remain virtually unknown throughout their lives. Popularity is another thing unto itself and fame is an entirely different story altogether - especially nowadays. Fame is more image-driven than anything. Just because you have ability, that does NOT mean you will be acknowledged for it.

I'm not calling him or anyone in particular a genius; I'm just saying that I agree, he is a talented brotha. So what if it took some time for him to get proper industry recognition. Some people never get it. Ability does not equal popularity.

BlaqueKnight said:

tricky99 said:

For someone to be a legend they usually start on that road in their youth and acheive a level of general awareness that VH will not meet. Most legends have hit songs and different periods in their work that people look back too. VH started too late (for whatever reasons), has no hits, has no visual history, and has a small following. That isn't the road to being a "legend".

The brother is talented and has wrriten some good songs. Does he have any classic songs? No. Will he have any classic songs? Not likely. "Genius" appears early. what we are hearing is someone who has worked on his craft for probably 20 plus years just now being heard. Its great that he his getting his music out but genius is heard early and boldly.

Your ideas with regards to the term "genius" seem to be quite off base. I suggest you refrain from using it. You are associating musical ability with popularity - and that couldn't be more wrong. Many geniuses, be they musical or whatever - can go most of their lives only beknownst to a small circle of people. What you are referring to is a child prodigy - someone who displays extraordinary ability at a young age. There are a lot more of them than you think. They don't all make the nightly news. As far as music goes - not all of them become successful. Some become teachers and remain virtually unknown throughout their lives. Popularity is another thing unto itself and fame is an entirely different story altogether - especially nowadays. Fame is more image-driven than anything. Just because you have ability, that does NOT mean you will be acknowledged for it.

You say he doesn't have any classic songs but you don't know that.

It does seem as if he has worked on his craft for a long time - and that is a good thing. I have heard lots of great music written by people later in their lives. Just because there is not paparazzi, cameras and reporters there writing about them doesn't lessen the quality of their work.

I'm not calling him or anyone in particular a genius; I'm just saying that I agree, he is a talented brotha. So what if it took some time for him to get proper industry recognition. Some people never get it. Ability does not equal popularity.

A classic song is classic because it has stood the test of time and was popular. VH can not have a classic song without recognition. He can write the best songs ever written but that in itself don't make them "classic". To become a legend you usually have to famous and popular at some point. Neither of those things are going to happen for him.

With all respect: i have seen some of these video's by Van Hunt now (i didnt know about him before) but i don't see what makes OP say this is the Prince album 'WE' still wait for.

First of all: you have the bizarre idea the OP seems to know what all fans of Prince are waiting for. One thing i have learned from my years on the org now is that Prince fans are as diverse as can be. It's probably the most diverse crowd i have ever seen on any fansite. Well, THIS is not what I am looking for.. lol

Second, those video's simply don't impress me: maybe it impresses people seeing an musician playing real instruments for a change, not using prerecorded music or lyp-synching. But in terms of compositions and delivery this is plain mediocre. The kind of level i see among local musicians, without a recording contract. Even Prince on auto-pilot is delivering a better live-performance.

tricky99 said:

BlaqueKnight said:

Your ideas with regards to the term "genius" seem to be quite off base. I suggest you refrain from using it. You are associating musical ability with popularity - and that couldn't be more wrong. Many geniuses, be they musical or whatever - can go most of their lives only beknownst to a small circle of people. What you are referring to is a child prodigy - someone who displays extraordinary ability at a young age. There are a lot more of them than you think. They don't all make the nightly news. As far as music goes - not all of them become successful. Some become teachers and remain virtually unknown throughout their lives. Popularity is another thing unto itself and fame is an entirely different story altogether - especially nowadays. Fame is more image-driven than anything. Just because you have ability, that does NOT mean you will be acknowledged for it.

You say he doesn't have any classic songs but you don't know that.

It does seem as if he has worked on his craft for a long time - and that is a good thing. I have heard lots of great music written by people later in their lives. Just because there is not paparazzi, cameras and reporters there writing about them doesn't lessen the quality of their work.

I'm not calling him or anyone in particular a genius; I'm just saying that I agree, he is a talented brotha. So what if it took some time for him to get proper industry recognition. Some people never get it. Ability does not equal popularity.

A classic song is classic because it has stood the test of time and was popular. VH can not have a classic song without recognition. He can write the best songs ever written but that in itself don't make them "classic". To become a legend you usually have to famous and popular at some point. Neither of those things are going to happen for him.

That's the tricky thing, some great works became classics years after their conception. It's really cynical to say this will never happen for van hunt or any artist really, the music game can be unpredictable at times.

...

The funny thing is, the only new song I really like (love, actually) is the non-album track, "The Savage Sincere Lof P"....

...

[Edited 10/11/11 17:08pm]

Tittypants said:

Graycap23 said:

Prince does NOT need 2 take notes from anyone making music in 2011.

Yes he does, That's his problem. There is tons of good music being made today, you just have to look for it. Prince does need to hear other music to inspire him to try some new things. I just think that Prince needs to get out of his own world, get the "yes men" outta there, & re-discovered himself...

While it might be good for him to have less "yes men" in his camp, there's every indication that he does listen to LOTS of new music. He always has.

His problem isn't making good music. He still does that. It's what Bono said about him, he doesn't have a filter to keep back the bad ideas.

Brendan said:

This feels like a game changer. Van Hunt morphing into one of those legends that will now forever serve as a reference point to countless other works.

Hmmm... I dunno. You can't be a legend if people don't know you exist. In a place like the Org most people know him and his music, outside of here if I ask anyone what they think of this album they'd be like 'who the hell are you talking about?'

I like this album but it doesn't really have any comparison with Prince's work... When I first heard it my first thought was that this is like his response to Meshel's "The World Has Made me the Man of my Dreams"...