I think the arrangments and musicianship of Andre's album is excellent.. Its inventive and he's got a creative feel that most are lacking in the music biz these days. I hope he keeps evolvin, and stays real with his sound.. But I must say, Andre has some really nice guitar playin, singing and catchy loops.. This will definantly get him noticed as an individual artist, and I wouldnt have asked for anything more.. Its definantly has volume in song listings and content... I think his disk tops off at 20 tracks, and although some are witty intro's and laughable tracks, they are pretty fuckin brilliant as far as im concerned.. I will say that Prince can learn one thing from this, is that its basic, fun and politic free, and I dont think Andre needed to bitch or complain about anything to get any point across.. he was makin kickass music and he's good at it.. nothing more.. Maybe one day we will see Prince back in a creative position like this one.

ohh i cant wait to get this...

TRON said:

nicee

i love the spoken interludes...its like some sorta twisted episode of 'reading rainbow'

CalhounSq said:

Calhoun! What's really good?

Me'Shell's got the new LP "Comfort Woman" coming 10/14 and a jazz LP on Verve due out in early '04.

Easiely going straight to Billboards #1 position next week. Do not pass "Go." Do not collect "$200."

okaypimpn said:

Wouldn't be surprised in the least. Dave Matthews might knock 'em off the #1 spot this week, but Outkast is gonna have more staying power, to be sure - they have a strong following, but they've yet to "hit" as mega-huge crossover artists...it's a good time for them to explode.

Listening to "Prototype" right now. Very pretty. This album does seem like it would sit nicely right next to Dream Factory or some such missing album.

(endo adds this to his list for the weekend trip to the wrecka stow)




damn, this is gonna be an expensive trip!

endorphin74 said:

Go to Best Buy. $10.99!!!

TRON said:

thanks for the tip!

psykosoul said:

And back in the day people said the same thing about Prince's "Sign 'O' The Times"!

TRON said:

Might want to call first. Some Best Buys are selling out. And won't get another batch till Saturday.

No joke.

Hold up! Someone please give me a brief summary of what this cd is about. Is it the new Outkast album and is it hip hop? The way im reading it sounds like its a fake Prince album. Im not being negative because from what i've read i want to go out and get it. But what is it?

namepeace said:

SWEET!!! Went to BestBuy (got my $10.99 copy!) & checked the date of release, had no idea she had a jazz joint coming out too. Thanks!!

Supernova said:

Y'all can order online too - still $10.99 w/ FREE SHIPPING (at least it was yesterday)

vgallo6 said:

Andre's is a new age, Hip Soul, Classy, Elektro Funk album which is NOT a fake Prince at all.

Big Boi is a nice Hip Hop album, just a basic rap album.

Watch for them on David Letterman this Friday.

BlaqueKnight said:

He doesnt have an amazing range, but I think he can sing.. its very listenable.. I mean, damn I havent cut this cd off yet.. I've been list'n to this set for almost 3-4 days..

9th listen to Dre's cd and still haven't put in Big Boi's effort yet.

12th listen still no Big Boi.

Yeah, Im wearin this disk out.. its still good after a dozen listens

psykosoul said:

I think its cool to go out of the norm.. I am VERY happy this set is double disked.. I think that says more that it will be a hit, and be this much content, cause especially on Andre's.. I can only find one or two songs that could have been left off, all the rest are a must..

seanski said:

Thank you.

okaypimpn said:

Word As much as I dig what Andre 3000 has done on "The Love Below" this is hardly 1999, SOTT or Dirty Mind. Hell it's not even "Come" if you ask me. It's a good (not great but good) album. It's benefiting from the low expectations we have with today's music. On another thread I rated the album a 7 out of 10. Fact is, in today's market that is about as good as it gets. Outside of a few gems here and there, we just don't get many quality releases in any given year. So I'm down with TLB but let's back off a little on holding it up to the level of Prince classics.

Yes, you're right. While the new Outkast CD is awesome, it could never hold a candle up to Prince's works. Prince, as we all know here was REVOLUTIONARY! (no pun intended).

I also wanted to mention that that little interlude featuring Big Boi making his son sing into the mike was cute. It kinds reminds me of the end of "Broadway" from The Clash's "Sandinista!" album. If anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, basically at the end of the song, the Clash's organist's little girl sings "The Guns of Brixton" along to some piano playing. Well, it looks like Sparkboxx/The Love Below is Outkast's version of Sandinista!

seanski said:

I'm sorry but Outkast has developed a sheep-like following much like Prince that believes they can do absolutely no wrong. Especially, since the TRL crowd discovered them.

I've been hearing hype about this album for since the beginning of the summer. And it was already heralded as "classic" before it hit the streets mainly because it's Outkast. How are they so fresh and innovative when Andre he's recycling Prince and George Clinton impersonations. Don't get me wrong I'm not hating but there out of the two discs there is one banging disc that could be compiled from the two albums. I think if it were trimmed down to one disc it would be just as classic as Aquemini. It kinda bugs me that other hip hop artists who go against the grain like Common and the Roots can't enjoy the same success.

Time will tell if I find the album more enjoyable, but for now I think people are giving the album more praise than it's worthy of. And Big Boi is not even getting half the shine.

psykosoul said:

I don't know about that. Most of the pre-hype I heard about the album came from people who had heard leaked tracks far in advance like "Ghettomusick" and "She Lives in My Lap." "Hey Ya" had been circulating at least a month before the single was officially released.

I'm sure there were people pre-disposed to have great expectations of Outkast because of their prior releases, but many were hyped based on hearing those tracks.



The innovation vs. recycling argument can be used to hail or criticize any artist at this point. That someone draws inspiration from other artists in and of itself does not mean they are not innovative or derivative.

In fact, in some cases, a retro act can be an innovation in and of itself (not saying that's the case here) because sometimes the simple act of recalling is innovative when everything else is stagnating.



The "it's too much" critique. Heard that about Prince's "Sign of the Times" and "Emancipation." Usually, however while people can easily call for edits, they can never agree on which are the best tracks, which only proves that they should all stay and the album remain the length that it is to satisfy a broader and diverse taste.



I think they both have enjoyed critical success. Common a little bit more commercial success than the Roots. But there are issues of image, accessibility of lyrics/style/presence, and execution. Common's "Electric Circus" in many ways was a strong attempt to out-Outkast Outkast. But it had some flaws in its execution that hampered it. Electric Fire Hustle Flower (or whatever the hell that track was called) kinda suggested a level of contrivance and disingenuos in Common's project, whereas Outkast seems more convincing with their forays into Outer aural space.



I think a lot of people are initially being struck by Andre's radical departure from hip hop. For many it's quite refreshing.

I'm glad the two cds are packaged together because it gives Big Boi a chance to get through the hype and actually get auditioned by Dre fans. Speakerboxxx is a very strong album; however, there are points where Big Boi attempts an Andre3000 flow (which reminds me why I miss Andre's rapping) and some of the guest spots kind of get in the way. Jay Z's in particular is really weak and he totally fuggs up the hook in Flip Flop Rock which is an otherwise amazing track.

17th listen and still no Big Boi.