duccichucka said:

Cotontige said:

It's funny cause I felt the complete opposite of what u just wrote, for me it combines everything that I liked in his past album, it's adventurous, jazzy, accessible yet pretty experimental. It is less energetic than 1st born second, this I agree with but it has a cohesive sound an, a real vibe that 1st born second didn't have. 1st Born Second sounded more like a collection of songs, a "here is what I can do" kind of statement. The production is also way more interesting on this one, some of the tracks on the first album were basically beats or a couple of loops blend togeteher (of course some other one were fantastic ...).

I would give it 4and half stars

I agree with you that A Love Surreal has a more cohesive sound than 1st Born.

This is because I always viewed Bilal's debut as a collection of singles and not

a proper full length album of some sort of artistic statement that coheres throughout.

With that being said:

A Love Surreal is a proper full length albums of an artistic statement that coheres

throughout. But I found it boring! I dunno: something about his voice juxtaposed

with the jangly-ness of an electric guitar is grating. Sometimes I think for R&B

cats who want to be explorative and inventive, this means utilizing instruments

not usually associated with their genre of choice and incorporating other song styles

and structures. So you get Bilal doing Radiohead rock on Airtight and toning it down

for this one. But I don't find this particularly explorative or inventive! What Were

You Hoping For? was explorative, in my opinion. There's nothing on A Love Surreal

that is captivating. The songwriting doesn't contain any verve; nothing pops!

But I appreciate Bilal's presence in the R&B scene today. I think Love For Sale is his

magnum opus and find it so strange that two of the best R&B albums of the past ten

years were both shelved, the other being Van Hunt's Popular!

However, my review must be taken with a grain of salt. I've only listened to the album

once. I didn't come to fully appreciate Popular until several spins later.

His 1st project.....is still his best.

Airtight's Revenge is a captivating CD. I will go so far as to say it's worthy of a Grammy. But I must confess that I do not own his debut and I'm picking up this one later today (if Besy Buy has copies).

Identity said:

Airtight's Revenge is a captivating CD. I will go so far as to say it's worthy of a Grammy. But I must confess that I do not own his debut and I'm picking up this one later today (if Besy Buy has copies).

Love.....love ...............LOVE his 1st project, especially live.

Which reminds me, I should track down his shelved follow-up on Interscope, Love For Sale.

Identity said:

Which reminds me, I should track down his shelved follow-up on Interscope, Love For Sale.

Yep.

Vocally, 1st Born Second is where Bilal is nonpareil. He had something to

prove and had some great singles/productions on that album in which to

showcase his extrarodinary voice.

But Love For Sale (easily located in P2P lands) is a more cohesive artistic

statement, in my opinion. 1st Born, like I said earlier, is just an album of

singles, albeit some very hot singles!

duccichucka said:

Vocally, 1st Born Second is where Bilal is nonpareil. He had something to

prove and had some great singles/productions on that album in which to

showcase his extrarodinary voice.

But Love For Sale (easily located in P2P lands) is a more cohesive artistic

statement, in my opinion. 1st Born, like I said earlier, is just an album of

singles, albeit some very hot singles!

I'm not sure I really understand what that means.

95% of most projects are just that.

Very few artist release cohesive projects.

Graycap23 said:

duccichucka said:

Vocally, 1st Born Second is where Bilal is nonpareil. He had something to

prove and had some great singles/productions on that album in which to

showcase his extrarodinary voice.

But Love For Sale (easily located in P2P lands) is a more cohesive artistic

statement, in my opinion. 1st Born, like I said earlier, is just an album of

singles, albeit some very hot singles!

I'm not sure I really understand what that means.

95% of most projects are just that.

Very few artist release cohesive projects.

An album of mostly singles is one that is devoid of a unifying musical or lyrical theme(s)

which ties together and holds an album throughout, which would be an album of cohesion.

If you read the Bilal interview provided in this thread, you'll come across him talking about

how Dali influenced A Love Surreal and how Airtight's social and political contexts were

included in the album purposefully - these lend themselves to unifying both respective pieces

of work. If you also recall that there is an overt electro/rock influence to Airtight which coheres

throughout the entire album, that would also be another example of album cohesion.

1st Born Second doesn't have these types of unifying themes. There's no overall artistic

statement he's making other than "I can sing my arse off." And showboating gets tired

rather quickly. 1st Born Second has disparate production sensibilities and styles as well.

It doesn't have a hold-together-thread.

I'm not saying it's a bad record; I'm saying it's not a proper full length album according to the values I attribute to such a body of music.

duccichucka said:

Graycap23 said:

I'm not sure I really understand what that means.

95% of most projects are just that.

Very few artist release cohesive projects.

An album of mostly singles is one that is devoid of a unifying musical or lyrical theme(s)

which ties together and holds an album throughout, which would be an album of cohesion.

If you read the Bilal interview provided in this thread, you'll come across him talking about

how Dali influenced A Love Surreal and how Airtight's social and political contexts were

included in the album purposefully - these lend themselves to unifying both respective pieces

of work. If you also recall that there is an overt electro/rock influence to Airtight which coheres

throughout the entire album, that would also be another example of album cohesion.

1st Born Second doesn't have these types of unifying themes. There's no overall artistic

statement he's making other than "I can sing my arse off." And showboating gets tired

rather quickly. 1st Born Second has disparate production sensibilities and styles as well.

It doesn't have a hold-together-thread.

I'm not saying it's a bad record; I'm saying it's not a proper full length album according to the values I attribute to such a body of music.

I understand that but if u have a read it 2 understand the artist perspective...............is it legit?

Shouldn't u feel that when u listen?

Graycap23 said:

duccichucka said:

An album of mostly singles is one that is devoid of a unifying musical or lyrical theme(s)

which ties together and holds an album throughout, which would be an album of cohesion.

If you read the Bilal interview provided in this thread, you'll come across him talking about

how Dali influenced A Love Surreal and how Airtight's social and political contexts were

included in the album purposefully - these lend themselves to unifying both respective pieces

of work. If you also recall that there is an overt electro/rock influence to Airtight which coheres

throughout the entire album, that would also be another example of album cohesion.

1st Born Second doesn't have these types of unifying themes. There's no overall artistic

statement he's making other than "I can sing my arse off." And showboating gets tired

rather quickly. 1st Born Second has disparate production sensibilities and styles as well.

It doesn't have a hold-together-thread.

I'm not saying it's a bad record; I'm saying it's not a proper full length album according to the values I attribute to such a body of music.

I understand that but if u have a read it 2 understand the artist perspective...............is it legit?

Shouldn't u feel that when u listen?

I'm not quite sure what you're getting at. Are you suggesting that when you listen to music

that you shouldn't have to think about what it is you're experiencing aurally? As someone

who is interested in classical and jazz composition, and enjoys poetry, when I encounter

a piece of music, I am interested in how it is structured compositionally and what the lyrics convey.

I'm not a lazy music listener - listening to music, in my opinion, can be mindless and fun!

But the shit that really moves me (i.e. art), is the shit that causes me to think whilst listening.

The artist's perspective doesn't have to be expressed lyrically either. But, when her

perspective is expressed with a purpose and there are unifying elements to that expression,

it lends itself, in my opinion, to a more satisfying artistic experience on behalf of the

audience. Basically, I'm asserting that humans like to hear a full narrative, not just bits and

pieces thrown together.

New interview w/ youknowigotsoul.com

other places I've read reviews

for this album always mention

it's far better than Airtight's Revenge

why do people speak so poorly of it? lol

I loved that record!!! I was living in California

at the time.. and I guess all albums released

during then will be linked to that "era"

(i.e. Erykah's NAPT:ROTA, Faith Evan's Something About Faith,

Kelis' Fleshtone, Edith Funker Don't Forget The Hot Sauce)

I heard the first half of this album

and I'm tryin real hard to not listen

until I buy one.. I support Bilal

Love For Sale is my fav as well, and I agree Popular is from the same cloth

This alnum is gettin better and better.

Slipping Away is now my jam.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

This alnum is gettin better and better.

Slipping Away is now my jam.

Mines too!

I have been sleeping on Bilal for years and part of my bias against his music was that I always viewed his music as banal-fender-rhodes-coffee-shop Neo Soul drivel. In short, I viewed his music like most Neo-Soul stuff as boring. But I'm starting to come around. My question to Bilal fans, is what is his best work and what should I buy first?

bashraka said:

I have been sleeping on Bilal for years and part of my bias against his music was that I always viewed his music as banal-fender-rhodes-coffee-shop Neo Soul drivel. In short, I viewed his music like most Neo-Soul stuff as boring. But I'm starting to come around. My question to Bilal fans, is what is his best work and what should I buy first?

1st born 2nd.

bashraka said:

I have been sleeping on Bilal for years and part of my bias against his music was that I always viewed his music as banal-fender-rhodes-coffee-shop Neo Soul drivel. In short, I viewed his music like most Neo-Soul stuff as boring. But I'm starting to come around. My question to Bilal fans, is what is his best work and what should I buy first?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...orn_Second

bashraka said:

I have been sleeping on Bilal for years and part of my bias against his music was that I always viewed his music as banal-fender-rhodes-coffee-shop Neo Soul drivel. In short, I viewed his music like most Neo-Soul stuff as boring. But I'm starting to come around. My question to Bilal fans, is what is his best work and what should I buy first?

Bilal has never offered "banal-Fender Rhodes-coffee shop-Neo Soul drivel;" he's

more of an avant-garde approach to his work than what was exploding in the R&B

scene during the mid to late 90s and the early '00s.

I thinK Love for Sale is his best work; I think his voice is on point and so are the

tunes it contains. But I agree: 1st Born Second is probably his most accessible

work. In fact, I am only able to appreciate Love for Sale because I spent years

listening to 1st Born Second.

duccichucka said:

bashraka said:

I have been sleeping on Bilal for years and part of my bias against his music was that I always viewed his music as banal-fender-rhodes-coffee-shop Neo Soul drivel. In short, I viewed his music like most Neo-Soul stuff as boring. But I'm starting to come around. My question to Bilal fans, is what is his best work and what should I buy first?

Bilal has never offered "banal-Fender Rhodes-coffee shop-Neo Soul drivel;" he's

more of an avant-garde approach to his work than what was exploding in the R&B

scene during the mid to late 90s and the early '00s.

I thinK Love for Sale is his best work; I think his voice is on point and so are the

tunes it contains. But I agree: 1st Born Second is probably his most accessible

work. In fact, I am only able to appreciate Love for Sale because I spent years

listening to 1st Born Second.

"White 2 Grey" is a very nice track though..................

bashraka said:

I have been sleeping on Bilal for years and part of my bias against his music was that I always viewed his music as banal-fender-rhodes-coffee-shop Neo Soul drivel. In short, I viewed his music like most Neo-Soul stuff as boring. But I'm starting to come around. My question to Bilal fans, is what is his best work and what should I buy first?

Start by "1st Born Second", then go into his unrealeased sophomore "Love For Sale" (my fav), then keep going on !

Acoustic sessions from the new album

Never Be The Same

http://youtu.be/B0ARCh6ihgs?t=4m44s

Back To Love, Longing & Waiting, Never Be The Same, All Matter

http://youtu.be/B4-2kgNeVoA?t=20m23s

Kiss, Never Be The Same, Longing & Waiting

http://www.timeout.com/newyork/music/bilal-live-at-tony

Thanks for the recommendations! I just bought Love Surreal and 1st Born Second. I was always on the fence about Bilal for after hearing "Back To Love", "West Side Girl" and Bilal's brilliant take on "Is It Love" by Bob Marley, I finally gave in and gave his music a chance and I dig it.

bashraka said:

Thanks for the recommendations! I just bought Love Surreal and 1st Born Second. I was always on the fence about Bilal for after hearing "Back To Love", "West Side Girl" and Bilal's brilliant take on "Is It Love" by Bob Marley, I finally gave in and gave his music a chance and I dig it.

1st Born Second was really

weird to me at first listen in spots

love most of the songs tho

esp "Love It" & "Love Poems" and "Sometimes"

should keep you busy for a while

and don't rule out Airtight's Revenge

I really enjoy that one as well

[Edited 3/14/13 15:03pm]

Peep the 11 min short feature. Bilal plays a cop with an ethical dilemma.

Cover is cute. 1st Born Second can still get it. Soul Sista and Sometimes = . Have tried to get into his stuff afterwards and just couldn't.

the single is good. the rest is ho hum

I usually don't do that but yall shall try it again. It's not one of those albums that grab you on first listen. Just try it again, Im sure you'll see the beauty of that album.

Cotontige said:

I usually don't do that but yall shall try it again. It's not one of those albums that grab you on first listen. Just try it again, Im sure you'll see the beauty of that album.

I agree. It's a great record, only second to Love For Sale imo.

1st Born Second/Love for Sale/Airtights Revenge = Superman

A Love Surreal = Clark Kent

A Love Surreal is a good album, but it like Bilal came back down to Earth for this one. Although you never want to hear an artist do the same album twice, I loved the direction he was heading in with Airtights...

How come his label can get his shit on a free stream on NPR but I can't find one damn copy in my city?

They knew it wouldn't sell :p

Just cop it on amazon.

[Edited 3/26/13 3:39am]