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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Brown Sugar

D'Angelo

1995

Brown Sugar

Album Summary

Brown Sugar is the debut studio album by American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist D'Angelo, released on July 3, 1995, through EMI. The album was recorded during 1994 and 1995 in sessions at Battery Studios and RPM Studios in New York City and at the Pookie Lab in Sacramento. Its production, instrumentation, arrangements, and songwriting were primarily handled by D'Angelo, who employed both vintage recording equipment and modern electronic devices. The songs feature earnest lyrics about love and romance, set against a fusion of contemporary R&B and traditional soul music with elements of funk, quiet storm, and hip hop music. Brown Sugar debuted at number six on the US Billboard Top R&B Albums chart, selling 300,000 copies in its first two months. With the help of its four singles, it spent 65 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart and received platinum certification within a year of its release. Brown Sugar was also met with widespread acclaim and earned D'Angelo several accolades, including four Grammy Award nominations. Regarded by music journalists as a pivotal release in neo soul, the album brought commercial exposure to the burgeoning musical movement amid the prominence of producer-driven, digitally approached R&B.

Wikipedia

Rating

2.94

Votes

5677

Genres

  • Funk
  • Hip Hop
  • Soul
Reviews
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Tue Jul 13 2021
2

Sure, it's peak 90s R&B but is that really saying much? For what it is, it's good. It's just that what it is isn't much, you know? It's an entire album of shallow sexism wrapped in a thin veneer of so-called romance. Nah. Pass.

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Thu Mar 11 2021
2

Very soulful and chill sounding. Great instrumentals create a true R&B experience. The lyrics weren't my speed, they were overly sexual without the nuance. It was very to the point where as other R&B achieves the same sensuality but in a more poetic way. His voice is great and I think for a debut this one was ok. It's like "getting in the mood music but for high-schoolers"(Which I might have rated higher 20 years ago)

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Wed Jan 26 2022
2

This album was definitely a cornerstone for the genre, pulls in a lot of great ideas, and D’Angelo is a competent singer. But man, I just did not enjoy this. He may be a good singer, but he is also a boring one. No excitement, the same energy the whole way through. And the melodies don’t help either. What’s the opposite of an ear worm? They seemed to slide off the folds of my brain and out my ears before the songs even ended. If they ever would end; the songs all go on for two or three minutes doing nothing new or interesting. I see why people like this, but it has so many of my pet peeves baked into it.

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Thu Mar 18 2021
2

dear lord am i glad that's over.

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Wed Jan 27 2021
2

He’s got a nice voice but I honestly hate this kind of music

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Mon Feb 01 2021
1

Lol this was wank

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Thu Mar 18 2021
1

The best bit was the wiki. I found this tediously dull

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Mon Jun 28 2021
5

FIVE STARS!!!!! FIVE STARS!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!

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Wed Apr 07 2021
5

Better than Maxwell's Hang Suite, would get away with it on a first date.

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Sat Jan 30 2021
5

Mellow, lovely sound

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Sun Jun 06 2021
5

Delicious R&B. Chill and rythm.

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Tue Jun 08 2021
5

My goodness, I love neo-soul. D'Angelo's voice is nothing short of heavenly. That voice combined with groovy, soulful instrumentals makes Brown Sugar an R&B classic. Some standout tracks include Alright, When We Get By, and Brown Sugar.

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Mon Aug 09 2021
5

WHAT A VIBE

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Thu Jan 07 2021
4

8/10 smooth, buttery smooth, smooth, I feel made love to by D'Angelo's pure, primal, non-toxic, sexual, raw smoothness

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Fri Jun 18 2021
2

1995: Brown Sugar, Lady

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Tue Dec 22 2020
2

Not my music but nice when played in the background

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Tue Jun 29 2021
2

1/2 really not my jam. the music itself is pleasant enough, the singing is a lot of moany noises.

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Fri Mar 26 2021
2

Very not my thing

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Fri Feb 19 2021
2

Dated, but a couple of cracking shagging songs. 3/10

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Thu Mar 18 2021
2

Flunk. Not enough Funk.

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Mon Jan 24 2022
2

It's rhythmic, not unnecessarily profane, and kind of works as an ode for his beloved... but there's just way too much cliche going on here. Way too much... not sure if his version of "cruisin" is better than Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow's version...

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Mon Jan 31 2022
2

Not really the kind of music that I choose to listen to but, this is a very nice album. I like his version of Crusin' but it isn't unique enough from the original Smokey Robinson version to make it stand out. It is nice that he is able to bring the song to a new generation of fans. 2/5

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Thu Jul 15 2021
5

Very soulful!!

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Sat Jul 24 2021
5

You gotta love soul/jazz and prince for that one. And I def. do

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Tue Aug 24 2021
5

This album is so silky smooth, from start to finish. I love every single song, there's not one on here that I don't love. I think I've fallen in love with this album. 5/5 stars.

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Fri Jan 28 2022
5

Love the album

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Wed Feb 16 2022
5

Shout out to all the grown-ass adults who were conceived to this album back in the 90s. This is smooth and seductive! I love the sense that the lyrics are utterly at the service of the music and D'Angelo's vocals, more about evoking a mood. It's a dream.

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Sun Apr 10 2022
5

Great debut album - pretty perfect. I say 9/10 but only because the follow-up, Voodoo (assume it is the list too) is even better (10/10).

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Wed May 11 2022
5

Come ON! Try to top it, what is sexier than this?

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Sun Jul 24 2022
5

D’Angelo one of the best to ever do it

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Mon Jul 25 2022
5

Superb. 90s R&B at its finest. Every track is gorgeous, and I love his rendition of Smokie Robinson's Cruisin. A new favorite.

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Fri Sep 02 2022
5

Muy bueno, chill, para trabajar o ir de viaje. Hasta para una cena en el lounge.

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Wed Oct 05 2022
5

Not always a huge fan of R&B, but damn, this man has soul. Love the album.

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Thu Dec 08 2022
5

Undeniable the greatness of this album. Made us all listen to music differently again. Could be released today and win awards.

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Thu Dec 22 2022
5

This album fucks

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Thu Jan 12 2023
5

Exelente, sensual, neo-soul

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Mon Nov 02 2020
4

I don't really like rnb/soul music but this floated my boat, pretty impressed. and reading wiki the dude is like a musical genius. wrote and played the whole thing himself, produced most as well. crazy that i'd never even heard of it before. 4/5.

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Tue Apr 20 2021
4

90’er rnb, neo-soul, lækkert, fløde

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Thu Jun 10 2021
4

I kind of love it.

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Sun Jan 24 2021
4

Excellent album, all the way through! Great voice, and great vibe.

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Thu Mar 18 2021
4

So good! Smooth as butter.

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Fri Jul 09 2021
4

Ur-neo-soul. Have loved this record since day one. 4.5.

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Sun Jun 27 2021
4

Sweet und sommerlich, urban und zeitlos. Klingt für mein ungeschultes Ohr wie ein männliches Pendant zu Erikah Badu. Perlt, hat die richtige Menge Soul und Jazz. Top-Entdeckung hier, Digger, no diggity!

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Sun Jan 24 2021
4

I think I liked a majority of the album (as in I saved almost 3/4ths of the songs.) But there wasn't any songs that really stood out and forced me to listen on repeat like "Girls just Wanna Have Fun", "Blue Suede Shoes" or "Tutti Frutti". I enjoyed listening to it and will revist it though, it's MORE OF A SOFT FOUR than a HARD FOUR LIKE the other two

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Thu Apr 15 2021
4

4.4 - Sophisticated R&B jams, smooth vocals with radiant falsetto, lush instrumentation. A vibe good enough to warrant an immediate repeat listen.

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Thu Jun 03 2021
4

Pretty good album. Brown Sugar was a great track and liked Crusin’ more than I was expecting. A good mellow sound throughout. Shit, Damn, Motherfucker is an A+ name for a song

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Sun Jan 31 2021
4

Our of gis time.

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Mon Feb 15 2021
4

Den va nice, I like it. Lite sensuell typ, blir def 4/5

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Mon May 10 2021
4

Great album! The epitome of cool!

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Sat Jul 10 2021
4

Smooth, groovy, very sexy. Love the jazz undercurrents.

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Fri May 14 2021
4

Nice chilled songs, good background listening

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Fri May 14 2021
4

Nice chill soul music. Good for background listening

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Fri May 07 2021
4

Not the best D'Angelo album but still very good

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Fri May 14 2021
4

Good album. It's weird but I somehow couldn't shake the feeling that the lyrics were nonsense. Maybe something about them being so literal made me feel that way. Honestly I have no idea. His cover of Cruisin' is pretty damn good though.

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Tue May 25 2021
4

memories of being in my ex's bunk bed age 14! Very smooth, lovely rich sound. Great voice. Some bits were definitely the inspiration for some Flight Of The Conchords songs.

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Wed Jun 09 2021
4

I didn't believe sex music existed before this album

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Mon Jul 05 2021
4

Musically, a really beautiful album, and D'Angelo's vocals are heavenly. Soulful, sexy, great mood music. Some of the lyrics are a bit much for my old lady ears, but that's me. Fave track: "Alright."

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Mon Aug 02 2021
4

I liked this one! Not that complicated lyrically but for what it is, it's beautiful :)

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Fri Aug 20 2021
4

That's a smooth album.

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Wed Sep 01 2021
4

Aww man the band here is so in the pocket it's ridiculous. Love that jazzy keys sound. First time hearing this album, and it just works straight outta the gate. What a talent! Can't wait to listen to his other albums. Bonus points for naming one song "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker". Is that the greatest song title of all time?! Every track here is awesome.

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Fri Sep 10 2021
4

Will need to listen again, still, definitely enjoyed it. D'Angelo sounds very cool and collected, and the instrumentals were great.

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Fri Sep 10 2021
4

Fanar!’mmmm

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Thu Sep 23 2021
4

Finally a hip-hop album that is less than an hour long. Not really my type of music but the production is good and there is a sophistication to the sound and to the songs especially that I like and that sets it apart. Some really interesting production touches and instrument choices, Is that vibes I hear in Me and those Dreamin' eyes of Mine? Not sure but that jazzy guitar is really cool. Has a classic soul sound that I like but remains modern. On the negative side; the songs tend to be too long. I don't think it's a coincidence that my favorite song also happens to be the shortest one; Smooth, with it's smooth jazzy piano 3.75 stars

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Fri Oct 01 2021
4

So damn good. S-t Damn Motherf-ker and Higher are the highlights. But several more great ones. The bass sound on Lady is dreamy. I dismissed this guy as some basic R&B crooner in the 90s. First, the music is better. Second, he wrote it. Third, he plays not just sings. I'm sorry D'Angelo, I did not give you a chance until now.

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Thu Oct 21 2021
4

This is excellent. Great feeling RNB that strikes the right balance sonically. Jonz In My Bonz is a song that I don't fully get, maybe its just a song about boning. Cruisin' is good but When We Get By is waaaaayy good

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Fri Oct 22 2021
4

Smooth

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Sat Dec 11 2021
4

I’ve never listened to soul/R&B stuff, but this is what I think of when I think of zoning out. Really nice, smooth like silk. 8/10

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Sun Dec 12 2021
4

4.5/5. Very swag, very good production

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Wed Jan 26 2022
4

WAOUH!!!

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Wed Feb 02 2022
4

// Sugar, you're so fine, and the day is fine, and we'll be fine. When we make it by and we get by with love. //

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Wed Feb 02 2022
4

Nice/smooth/raw

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Sun Feb 13 2022
4

Whew. Lemme towel off. That was 50 minutes, and then some, of pure, unadulterated R&B/Soul/Gospel (yes, Gospel) seduction (yes, yes, seduction). Oh, and we consummated the relationship… several times. Yeah, this LP carries a Parental Advisory tag for Explicit Content, and for good reason. It’s a grown-up experience, for sure. The kids couldn’t handle this. 'Brown Sugar' needs to be played loudly, headphones are fine, too. If you like Soul music- no, forget that, if you recognize any good music when you hear it, regardless of genre- then you’ll dig this LP. I sure did. How have I not heard of this cat? With the exclusion of the stringed instruments- which, by the way, are used with such subtle restraint that you hardly know you’ve been listening to them, like the aftertaste of an herb used in the sauce, never standing out, but only contributing to the overall flavor- D’Angelo plays virtually every instrument on this debut recording. That’s Prince territory, brother. His bass parts ala Paul McCartney’s, that wonderful wah-wah guitar sound so important to R&B/soul, his tasty little jazz piano solo on ‘Smooth,’ or the pure funk beat on ‘Alright,’ with a bonus gospel sound that blow in and out like the seemingly capricious movement of the Holy Spirit. (By the way his father was a Pentecostal minister.) On ‘Shit, Damn, Motherfucker’ (and more on that in a moment) he pays homage to a Marvin Gaye-like groove. He actually (re)covers Smokey Robinson’s 1979 hit, ‘Cruisin’,’ and makes it his own. Smokey Robinson. He’s not as good a singer as Smokey, but he’s got his own perfectly fine chops, including the lilting falsettos. On ‘Jonz In My Bonz’ he creates this wonderful bubbly, underwatery, and syncopated xylophone (I think) kind of sound that runs throughout the underneath of the song. I’ve never used this term, but here goes: prog funk. D’Angelo just gave it birth. Musically, so subtly smooth. Lyrically, about as subtle as knocking on the door to your blind date with a large, ebony strap-on. D’Angelo has one thing, and one thing only, on his mind: he wants to make sweet, chocolate love to you. ‘Your skin is caramel with the coco eyes,’ he purrs on the title track. How delicious does caramel skin sound? On ‘Me And These Dreamin’ Eyes Of Mine’ he describes her love as ‘the cherry in my chocolate covered dreams.’ Ok, we get it, D. brown skin is sexy. But he overdoes it a bit on ‘When We Get By,’ which begins as a nice date, dinner, movie, etc, but then of course, ends with sex, D’Angelo proposes, ‘We could make love in the shade, sip some chocolate(?) lemonade.’ But I get it. He’s a young, good looking dude, this one. I can’t imagine getting consent has been much of a problem for him. And good thing, too, cause this guy’s so horny the crack of dawn isn’t safe. At the time of this recording, he was 21. So, say no more. But to be fair, and this is noteworthy, the content is presented romantically, albeit erotically. Every song, save one, is about seduction, with the final track, ‘Higher,’ a celebration of good news, complete with the gospel genre being the primary influence here. But the good news of this sexy service is not quite what one typically gets in church. The salvation here is that D is getting some: ‘Just like an angel watching over me (your protect me from my fears). I once was blind but now I see (ever since the day you appeared.)’ This is not a reference to the grace of God in Jesus, either. It’s not that he’s disrespectful at all of gospel music, or church, sincerely referencing prayer and such. But D’Angelo’s just as likely to bend the choir director over the pew and have a go as he is to use it for prayer. I’ll not give it a way, but on the afore mentioned, ‘Shit, Damn, Motherfucker (it’s honestly cracking me up to type that title),’ D catches his girl with another guy in bed, and things end horribly. I won’t give it away, but I found myself actually a bit frightened as the song progressed. I loved this LP, especially the instrumentation which was conceived, written, edited, and performed with style and taste. I would add one last adjective to describe 'Brown Sugar': sophisticated. This is dress up soul. Tuxedo and evening gowns. Just make sure you’ve got some sexy negligee on underneath for later.

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Wed Feb 16 2022
4

Liked this more than I expected to. Definitely gospel roots and very smooth.

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Mon Feb 28 2022
4

Something about this album reminds of those late nights I'd stay up baked out of my mind to watch that greasy ass show Cheaters. I hated it, but also it was kind of fun?

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Wed Mar 30 2022
4

Smooth, good vibes

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Wed May 11 2022
4

Was worried this was gonna sound dated upon revisiting it, but he captured a pretty timeless sound - incorporating various influences from the past fairly seamlessly with a more modern, at times even progressive, touch. The grooves are nice but I like it most when he gets more atmospheric and textured with the the arrangements, like on "Jonz in my Bonz" and "Cruisin'". This was a breath of fresh air compared to the more formulaic R&B of its era.

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Wed May 18 2022
4

felt cool.

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Fri May 20 2022
4

ce gros lover

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Fri May 27 2022
4

Different vibe to the rest of the list, smooth and easy listening.

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Fri Jul 22 2022
4

Funky soulful beats, groovy bass, gorgeous jazzy feel. Very easy to get lost in.

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Tue Aug 30 2022
4

Solid R&B

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Thu Sep 01 2022
4

A really chill neo-soul album with great vocals and even better production. It seems this is the only D'Angelo album on the list though, which is a bit odd as the other two seem so much more focused and vital

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Thu Sep 01 2022
4

Loved this type of rnb, lyrical and jamming.

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Wed Sep 21 2022
4

Best Song: Shit, Damn, Motherfucker. I already thought this song was great with the funky intro, and then when the chorus hit I was in with both feet. GotDAMN this song is good. Worst Song: Higher. A little too much gospel in my R&B. Overall: Shit this is smooth. My first exposure to it, and I'll definitely be keeping it in the rotation. So slick, with no real low points. Just a perpetual groove.

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Mon Sep 26 2022
4

Very smooth I enjoyed it

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Fri Sep 30 2022
4

Nice, solid soulful album. If you new "Cruisin' " from the Huey Lewis / Gwyneth Paltrow version, that has to be the whitest version of that song I have ever heard. D'Angelo makes it about 1,000 times better and smoother. Wow. The album version is a bit long, though. I imagine the radio edit is better. I'm surprised that he's only done three albums. But I guess quality over quantity? Although they called this neo-soul, there were a lot of times it drifted into more jazz. Not a bad thing, but the lines were definitely blurred. Good album to "get it on" to.

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Wed Oct 12 2022
4

Sexy music, very easy to listen to. I think it deserves a place on this list, but the one downside is that it's almost ~too~ easy listening. I find that can be the case with some genres like smooth RnB, and light jazz, and I've heard him before but didn't expect it to be this laid back. It's still a great sound, but the songs all kind of blend together. I think some of it's downfall is the proliferation of choruses where the backup singers sing the main hook and he riffs behind them. It's a great sound but definitely overdone on the album. I think it's a strong 3, like closer to a 3.8, so I'm giving it a 4.

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Wed Oct 12 2022
4

D'Angelo is the master of baby-making music. This album is loose, jazzy and sexy. I really enjoyed it and it works just as well when you pay close attention to the music as it does simmering in the background. "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" is a wild song. Aside from the (amazing) chorus, the lyrics about catching his wife with his best friend and murdering them both caught me by surprise. 👀😂

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Thu Oct 20 2022
4

I didn’t need to even listen. I’ve heard this album 1000 times already. D’Angelo is a master of his craft and this album is a classic.

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Tue Oct 25 2022
4

A lot of smooth sexy songs on here, an overall real nice listen!

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Wed Oct 26 2022
4

Smooth and silky - and actually a good record. It kind of leans towards a steamier Stevie Wonder with a lot of soul.

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Fri Nov 18 2022
4

Not something I would seek out, but I enjoyed this

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Sun Nov 20 2022
4

Pleasantly surprised by this album seeing as it’s not in my particular field of taste.

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Sun Nov 20 2022
4

Wonderful, smooth

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Mon Feb 06 2023
4

Smooth

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Wed Feb 08 2023
4

I like D’Angelo’s wandering R&B style. The songs have a sort of jammy improvisational feel that really works for me. 8/10

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Wed Feb 08 2023
4

7/10. This was good, but I didn't give it the attention it deserved so I can't say how good it was.

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Wed Feb 08 2023
4

8/10 dated but really enjoyable.

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Thu Feb 23 2023
4

Some really good stuff! Smooth, great harmonies. Good cheeky little solos. Not very overwhelming. Good good cruise stuff

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Thu Feb 23 2023
4

Highlights: "Lady," "Jonz in my Bonz," "Me and my Dreamin' Eyes" R&B mid-90s had already absorbed plenty of funk and hip-hop. What sticks out here in context is plenty of other stuff: the timbres, the harmonies, and the rhythm. "Neo-soul" is more a cluster of associated artists that formed a new guard of Serious Musicians in R&B: Erykah Badu's 1997 "Baduizm," The Roots, Bilal...Thundercat was an understudy twinkle in their eye. It isn't just how old-school the soul can get with D'Angelo but how much jazz extension and ornamentation is in here -- not an innovation but a cut above a lot of his peers. If anything, his style seems to owe a lot to Prince, his appreciation of groove and his tentative, exploring falsetto. But even Prince has spent much more time in a very timbrally embellished place. It's really taken "neo-soul" a long time to renegotiate the bells and whistles of synths and high production, and it's easy to forget it started as a "conscious" reaction against that. Gone are the '80s crystal leads, the vocoders, the pads, (most) strings, the trippy modulation, the scratching, the guitar is filtered down to a heeled wah, gone gone gone. This is so stripped down and dark that you really get this central heavy thud, this behind the beat feel that only became more pronounced over D'Angelo's career until Questlove popularized a formalized version with THAT quintuplet beat. D'Angelo gave pop this feel. 4/5

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