KingSausage said:

I like AOA a lot, and even listened to it this morning. But it doesn't have the power that Black Messiah has. There's no reason to compare the two, but people here do it and I do it and you do it so what the fuck. I think sometimes people talk about Prince's albums being masterpieces because they have a wide range of styles. I don't think that's really a good point. As an artist Prince's wide range of styles helps him hit heights that D'Angelo is unlikely to ever reach. But on individual albums a wide range is hit or miss. If it was a guarantee of masterpiece status, we would still be talking about how Rave is one of Prince's best albums. After all, that album has one of the widest range of styles out of any of his albums. 1999 is a masterpiece, but it's nowhere near as diverse as Rave. [Edited 12/20/14 11:49am] [Edited 12/20/14 11:50am]

No, the point is that people like what they like, period.

You prefer BM, great. Enjoy.

You don't really need a cheering section to validate what you like.

babynoz said:

Thibaut said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

After carefully listening to #BlackMessiah on repeat since first released. I've come to the conclusion that's it's NOT better than 's "ArtOfficialAge". That one has a range of styles,in muziq that is leaps and bounds over D's latest. But it's good for his comeback.

Hopefully when comes out of hiding he & Warners will continue to promote it. Give it the attention it deserves...

I hear a few nice melodies, beats, chords, licks, riffs,.. but,

Where are the SONGS?!?!?

IMO thats because Prince Never left!

I think its quite telling that EVERY 'D'ANGELO' review-

Talks about PRINCE!

KingSausage said:

Can you imagine a new Prince album getting these reviews? It will never happen. http://www.metacritic.com...ic-reviews

Ego101 said:

Ego101 said:

I hear a few nice melodies, beats, chords, licks, riffs,.. but,

Where are the SONGS?!?!?

Gotta agree. But I've been asking that about "R&B" for the last few years. it's all the sonics and no melody. AOA even falls prey to it. I like the new Funkadelc album better than most things right now. Tho it's a mish mash of WTF good and WTF ...um...WTF!

KingSausage said:

Ego101 said:

IMO thats because Prince Never left!

I think its quite telling that EVERY 'D'ANGELO' review-

Talks about PRINCE!

No doubt. Any groundbreaking soul/funk/R&B album is going to be influenced by Prince. His legacy is untouchable, particularly from 1980-1988.

D'Angelo seems to influenced by the 90s Prince as well. The new record has some SOTT era influences on it, but his ballads and vocal stylings weren't that far removed from the D&P / Symbol / Come / TGE era Prince on his last two albums.

novabrkr said:

I agree with the diverstiy of styles thing.

A co-worker once said all Red Hot Chili Peppers songs sound the same.

I thought no they don't, they just sound like RHCP.

Same with D'Angelo. People who think "1000 Deaths", "The Charade", "Till It's Done" or "Betray My Heart" sounds similar just didn't bother listening.

Ego101 said:

I hear a few nice melodies, beats, chords, licks, riffs,.. but,

Where are the SONGS?!?!?

This is what I'm saying. There's a distinct lack of arrangements, progressions, and structure. The production in that sense is very self indulgent.

Prince really is one of the few people that can get away with producing his own work.

D'Angelo shouldn't. This album would have been a lot better with an objective producer on board. Someone's who job it is to make the decisions that are right for the song, not the decisions that are right for the artist.

As it stands? Only pre-existing D'Angelo fans are giving a fuck about this record.

Militant said:

Compared to the pop icon Prince, D'angelo is a niche act that has a fan base that are mostly soul/funk/rnb lovers between 25-35. When his new album has no hit single, no naked upper body, no booty shaking music video, no trendy sounds... we can't expect him to climb the billboard like Beyonce. This is NOT a pop album. For those in here that ar mainly fans of pop, rock, prog, electro and classic etc, I'm sorry. This album is not for you. Y

this album sounds incredible through my studio monitors

as for only pre-existing fans liking it.. this is the first album of his i've ever listened to

MoBettaBliss said:

KingSausage said:

MoBettaBliss said:

this album sounds incredible through my studio monitors

as for only pre-existing fans liking it.. this is the first album of his i've ever listened to

That must mean you don't exist. I'm very sorry.

it's ok.. that can be my excuse for not mowing the lawn today

as for the production... the production absolutely kills on this album... it's a new yardstick for me.. seriously

sure... the arrangements aren't intro, verse, verse, chorus, bridge etc... but that's fine... it's a hypnotic trip that i'm happy to ride

MoBettaBliss said:

IMO they both are a let down.

KingSausage said:

The reaction of Prince fans to Black Messiah relative to AOA is STRIKINGLY similar to the reaction of Prince fans to Voodoo relative to Rave. Perhaps others if you who were here on the Org during the old black & purple days will know what I mean. Oh it's nothing but one groove the whole time he mumbles there's no hooks or songs he's just copying Prince he has no range Prince has so much more diverse sounds blah blah blah wank wank wank AOA is much stronger than Rave (confession: I enjoy Rave). But I hear the same old shit now as I heard then. Both times, D's album dropped just a couple of months after Prince's album. The Prince albums flopped. D got massive love from critics. With Voodoo v. Rave, the world remembered Voodoo and still listens to it. Rave? Not so much. I wonder if this same scenario will play out again.

I cant speak for anyone else but..

I like songs with Chorus' & strong Hooks!

Critics are comparing BM to Sly's- Riot gpoin' on... Thats cute but...

Where's the 'Family Affair'? ...

I like Strong Songs!

He had a few on his Debut..

Voodoo... not as much, but I enjoyed several cuts like "Spanish Joint' ect..

BM does very little for me..

I like 'Another Life' .. everything else... meh...

KingSausage said:

MoBettaBliss said:

it's ok.. that can be my excuse for not mowing the lawn today

as for the production... the production absolutely kills on this album... it's a new yardstick for me.. seriously

sure... the arrangements aren't intro, verse, verse, chorus, bridge etc... but that's fine... it's a hypnotic trip that i'm happy to ride

It's depressing that people can't get past the non-traditional song structures. People here seem to live the song Time on AOA. That had a very similar sort of sustained groove angle.

Replica said:

One thing that's unmistakeable about Black Messiah...the lyrics. Say what you want about the beats, but the lyrics are unbelievably powerful, even on some of the lesser songs. The lyrics don't always rhyme and it's hard to hear what he says when he sings. However, when you go to the D'angelo website and read the lyrics, I get blown away every time.

Some of the beats are truly great, though, like Til It's Done, Prayer, The Charade, and Another Life. Musically, you can tell that he's been listening to Funkadelic/Parliament/George Clinton.

I'm of the mind to think that "Come on D...it don't take 15 years to release one album." That's a discussion for another day I guess.

P.S. One lyric that I really love is..."Question ain't do we have resources to rebuild, do we have the will?" Simply deep...

MoBettaBliss said:

Ego101 said:

I cant speak for anyone else but..

I like songs with Chorus' & strong Hooks!

yeah ... me too

and then sometimes i just wanna listen to miles davis

in the current climate of what's really popular in music today... i'm truly grateful for this album... i'm grateful that someone made a piece of art, without concern for formulaic songwriting

this is an album from someone who stayed true to his art, and was willing to take risks in the process

i believe it paid off... and will continue to do so

let's see how well this album does (not that that's the measure of it's quality)... i think it will surprise some people

i'm not trying to tell people what they should like though... just giving my spin on the points raised

KingSausage said:

babynoz said:

No, the point is that people like what they like, period.

You prefer BM, great. Enjoy.

You don't really need a cheering section to validate what you like.

I hear you. I like what I like, which includes AOA and BM. I hate when people tell others why they like things, and I fall into the same hypocrisy myself. But I'm just saying that range in of itself isn't always a good argument for why something is great. SOTT = great range. Rave = debatable range (I like it, but it's a guilty pleasure).

The bolded strikes me as odd--I hate when people don't tell me why they like things, but just say they like it and leave it at that (or just say "It's good"). I like understanding why people have opinions, what their tastes are--I can learn to notice or even appreciate stuff that I had missed before, but also it can help me use that knowledge to figure out whether the next time that person says they like or dislike something if that means I should check it out or not.

.

That's not, it seems to me, a matter of wanting validation--but it's about the only talking one can actually do about art, especially if you're not in the business of making it yourself and can talk shop. And without listening to other people doing just that sort of talking, I would have missed a lot of music I enjoy.

EddieC said: