Playa Playa
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Devil’s Pie
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One Mo’Gin
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Untitled (How Does It Feel)
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Album: Voodoo (2000)

Where did you go, D’Angelo? The gossip says you had/have a drug problem, your MySpace blog chalks it up to you being “a deliberate guy,” and the pictures are disheartening, check the before and after:

With Beck, about a decade ago

2005 mugshot

After the monumental achievement that was 2000′s Voodoo, we’ve heard next to nothing from you. I hazily remember you getting arrested a few years ago with some weed and powder, but musically it’s been pretty sparse: choruses on unmemorable hip hop throwaways, one stellar track ("Water Get No Enemy" from a 2002 Fela tribute album), and a handful of other crap that was a waste of your blessings.

I’ll stop ranting atcha, D, but I gotta admit — it feels good to vent.

Despite my bitterness, I still haven’t soured on Voodoo. Others may have dropped more hits, but there are only a handful who put out a long-player that was coherent and listenable from start to finish.

Voodoo was the apex of the short-lived Soulquarians movement, a loose collection of producers, singers, musicians, and rappers that presented hip hop and R&B in a more organic light. Some of its members included Erykah Badu, The Roots, Mos Def, Common, J Dilla, Raphael Saadiq (who co-wrote “Untitled (How Does It Feel)”), and D’Angelo.

Voodoo was recorded over four years of sessions at New York’s Electric Lady Studios. Most of the tracks evolved from sprawling jams, prioritizing emotional grooves over catchy hooks (though there were some of those, too):

From four until seven in the evening, the crew would watch the treat of the day and eat. Then they’d turn on the recorder and begin playing an album or an entire catalog by one of the Yodas—the dominant influence of ’96 was Prince, in ’97 Jimi and Rev. Al [Green], ’98 Gaye and George Clinton, ’99 James and Nigerian star Fela Kuti. They’d jam and wait to see what the groove inspired.

Rolling Stone, May 2000, article by Touré

Incredible to think how tight that band became after playing track after track from Prince, Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, and Fela. I bet there’s some great, unreleased bonus material.

Throughout the record, D’Angelo lays down track after track of vocals, providing harmonies, counter-melodies, emphasis, and background noise. The effect — especially on the opener, “Playa Playa” — evokes gospel, in spite of the odd basketball metaphor (“Steal you with my two shot”?).

“Devil’s Pie” feels more urgent than the other tracks on Voodoo, with D’Angelo railing against the materialism that’s killing hop hop. Setting the tone is DJ Premier’s airtight production, epitomized by his intricate all-scratched chorus. Premier lays down a surgical array of samples, with choice bits from various rappers and the occasional horn blast. It also features what may be my favorite lyric from the record: “Fuck the slice, we want the pie.” (Basketball metaphor: bad; pizza metaphor: good.)

“One Mo’Gin” is a great selection for 3am, when the DJ needs to chill out the party. It’s sticky, melodic, and sounds great with the atmospheric hiss that only vinyl can deliver. In case one doubts the depths of D’Angelo’s talents, he provides all vocals and instrumentation (except for Pino Palladin’s bass) on this track.

“Untitled (How Does It Feel)” was the record’s (relatively) big hit, propelled by its infamous video. A 5-star classic rooted in a laid-back beat from Questlove and a Prince-ly falsetto, the track gains in power (and D’Angelo vocal overdubs) until the final, triumphant chorus. I still find the abrupt ending unnecessarily jarring, but I’ve learned to accept it.

Speaking of Prince, it’s fair to say that Voodoo feels like the Prince record he should have released instead of the dreck he’s been giving us since 1991′s Diamonds And Pearls. Prince was able to distill the history of modern black music — Jimi, James, Reverend Al, Sly, et. al. — into music that felt reverent and futuristic at the same time; Voodoo picks up on this same vibe.

Maybe it’s for the best that D’Angelo virtually disappeared after Voodoo. It set such a high bar and it’s been so many years that unless he comes through with something entirely different, original, and bangin’, whatever he releases will be greeted with disappointment or apathy. But I’ll keep an open mind — D’Angelo’s earned at least that.

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker
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Slow Love
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If I Was Your Girlfriend
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Adore
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Album: Sign O’ The Times (1987)

Most casual Prince fans would peg Purple Rain as their favorite of his albums. But those that have followed Prince’s career would probably pick Sign O’ The Times, his double LP from 1987. I play this record all the time, and picking only a few tracks to share was challenging.

I was fortunate enough to see Prince on the Sign O’ The Times tour in 1988. My high school friend, Adrian, and I had spent the day in Manhattan and we were approaching Penn Station to take the train home to Long Island. A scalper approached us and offered us tickets to that night’s show for $60 each. We were typical broke high school students and bargained him down to $60 for both. Amazing seats, right on the floor. Here are my memories of the show: it was in the round, there was a basketball court on the stage, a huge pipe organ was lowered from the ceiling, Eric B. and Rakim was sitting close to us, and a car actually drove him on and off the stage (talk about extravagant!). Overall, it was among the best live performances I’ve ever seen.

Back to the record. As I wrote earlier, it’s chock full of 5-star classics, so I tried to pick ones that folks may not know as well. And just to be really OCD about it, I selected one song from each of its four sides.

First up is the bouncy “The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker,” a story-song about a dude with relationship problems who takes a bath with a waitress. Prince’s songwriting is adventurous, with tone and key changes that flow magically from one passage to the next. Apocryphally, Prince didn’t know anything about Dorothy Parker (the writer), he just liked the name.

The next selection is “Slow Love,” which has a great retro feel to it. Based on the title, it wouldn’t be surprising if this was another one of Prince’s dirty songs but it’s actually a sincere and romantic groover. Throughout the LP — but especially on this track — Prince deploys his horn section in counterpoint to the melody.

For sheer cojones, it’s hard to beat “If I Was Your Girlfriend,” where the purple one reimagines his relationship with his ex-lover as her female best friend. At first, it’s all about picking out clothes, washing her hair and such. But this being a Prince song, he/she soon begins to fantasize about hot girl-on-girl action. This song is hilarious yet deep, and I gotta believe Prince is in on both the joke and the novel concept he concocted.

The final selection may be the most straightforward love song Prince has ever written (“Love is 2 weak 2 define; Just what u mean 2 me”) though of course, Prince can’t help himself from bringing a touch of the profane to it (“In a word, U were sex; All of my cool attitude U took”). Vocally, Prince offers up his most expressive falsetto, swooping into his uppermost register with full command.

For reals, you should really just go out and purchase this one.