holy smoke!!! i just finished listening to the new VAN HUNT cd and it is no joke! i bought it strictly on word of mouth advice without having heard a single song on the album and i have to say that this guy is the real deal.
[This message was edited Mon May 17 20:38:21 2004 by chrisslope9]

chrisslope9 said:

& it get's even better the more U listen 2 it.
/peace Manki

can we please limit the "Van "C"unt" threads to one a month....?!?! damn...

Can one of you guys give us a track-by-track review,describing the songs and what you like about them? How would you describe his music?

DavidEye said:

David..I thought you was cool...don't encourage this to continue?!?!

FiveFootNine said:

FiveFootNine said:

Sure just as long as we limit the Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Madonna and Terence Trent D'Arby thrads.

okaypimpn said:

I hear ya there

DavidEye said:

I'll take a stab at it...

1. Dust-nice first single...it was my fav. track when I first heard the album, but there are many more now. Lots of guitars and kind of puts you to the same vibe of some Lenny Kravitz (circa Are You Gonna Go My Way)

2. Seconds of Pleasure-kind of a blusey track with the same bassline (I'm convinced) as the beginning of EW&F's "New World Symphony" from their Gratitude album. Van is channeling Curtis Mayfield's falsetto on this track and it works well for him.

3. Hello, Goodbye-one of my favorite tracks. Got a funky Bootsy Collins-type "space-bass" line to it.

4. Down Here in Hell (With You)-not one of my fav. tracks, but still it's pretty nice. Kinda sounds like something Terence Trent D'Arby would do.

5. What Can I Say-very nice ballad. Whenever I hear this song, I think of Prince's "Grand Progression."

6. Anything (To Get Your Attention)-just a throwback funky-ass song! I could easily hear Sly doing a song like this circa There's A Riot...

7. Highlights-I think Sly wrote this song and gave it to Van! From the beat machine to the bassline (a la "If You Want Me To Stay"), this song is really good.

8. Precious-mmmm, it's aight...again, just not one of my favs.

9. Her December-this song reminds me of D'Angelo's "Spanish Joint"-exact same vibe.

10. Hold My Hand-thisis the song where Wendy is playing rhythm guitar (if I'm not mistaken I think she's on "Precious" as well). Really up-beat and lively. Kind of reminds me of something Prince may have done for the Dirty Mind album.

11. Who Will Love Me in Winter-again, not really one of my favs.

12. Out of the Sky-this is the song that really solidifies Van as an artist. It features background vocals by Dionne Farris and starts off with a funky improv-like jam that sounds like something Stevie wrote himself and then goes into a Sly-like song (a la "Spaced Cowboy") and then ends with the Stevie-like jam again with horns and the whole Wonderlove-like background vocals. Simply amazing! My fav. track on the album!!!!

okaypimpn said:

OMG...he was just kidding!!!!!

okaypimpn said:

Thanks for that review! I think I'm gonna pick up this CD.

FiveFootNine said:

Okay, well this is for those who have never heard of the guy or his music.

okaypimpn said:

okay..just this 20th time....

FiveFootNine said:

Picked-up this cd because of the Org.

Great disc, gotta keep listening

okaypimpn said:

FOR REAL Sheeyit, I'd take 15 Van Hunt threads for every Janet, Michael and Madonna thread that gets posted almost daily.
[This message was edited Tue May 18 7:28:06 2004 by psykosoul]

psykosoul said:

Amen!

Van Hunt Is.... the "Real Deal" !!!

okaypimpn said:

this reminds me of older stevie wonder material..


absolute fire funk!


same vibe!? get out of here! 'her december' has this spanish salsa thing going on. 'spanish joint' is more of a jazz song to me. no comparison imo. no worries though.


wendy is on here!? cool.


great funk workout.

i've been listeining to the album for ages. the album's still not out in holland i believe. so, i have to do with my burned copy for now.

purpleone said:

How can you not hear the similarities?! Listen to them back to back and then come back and tell me they don't sound alike.

I am diggin this cd. My favorites cuts are dust, seconds of pleasure, precious, and hold my hand.

egg-zellent cd!

Yo!!
I picked up this cd on friday and I haven't put it down since!! I first saw his video 4 "dust" on VH1 Soul and knew that he had a cool little sound that's missing in music 2day. The cd is easily one of the best I've heard all year. My favorite songs are

dust, hello-goodbye, precious, highlights, hold my hand, and out of the sky.

okaypimpn said:

okay. i will. later.

The Van Hunt album is excellent and it’s all I’ve been playing since I got it a week ago. Fave songs are ‘Seconds of Pleasure’, ‘Dust’, ‘Down Here In Hell’, ‘Precious’, and ‘Hold My Hand’. You can here Sly, Prince, and Curtis in his music, but he does add a bit of his own flavor I think. In my opinion, though, all of the new crop of male R&B artists sound alike…Anthony Hamilton, Van Hunt, etc. D’Angelo started the Prince-influence craze and now every one is trying to get in on it.

Joi said:

Basically.

I remember when D'Angelo first came out I was talking about him to my sister and she was like "Isn't that Prince's apprentice?" I died laughing!!!!

www.vanhunt.com is dope! Its a great cd

Joi said:

Sorry, but I think that's bullshit. It appears that way to Prince hardcore fans because so many focus in so heavily Prince's music and relate everything else accordingly. I hear so many other influences in his work that Prince isn't even on the forefront of the list. I think what D'Angelo started was a RETURN TO SOUL MUSIC. Prince is among the influences, but certainly not singular - nor in the forefront. I hear more of Smokey, Marvin, Donny Hathaway and Sly in Van Hunt than Prince. Anthony Hamilton? I don't think I can even say A.H. & Prince in the same sentence and make sense. Al Green and Anthony Hamilton, definately, but not Prince. The "new crop of male R&B singers" are doing what the record labels tell them to - singing slow songs. Whereas the throwback era of R&B singing is "in" and it does encompass Prince, it is not all Prince by any measure. Actually, this style seems to be what Prince steered away from because he didn't want to be type-casted as a "soul singer".
btw, I like Hello Goodbye, Down Here In Hell With You, Seconds Of Pleasure, Anything To Get Your Attention, and Who Will Love Me In Winter.