Yeah it definitely was just too corny for me. I loved the dance songs, though, I would bust out some moves in the car to them. ;PP

I seriously can not stop playing this song lol



The good lifeeee I know I made it :afro: The dance songs are awesome!

I just realized I had wrote "Good Times " instead of Good Life in previous post, my bad lol

I knew what you meant anyway!
I have to listen to the song again, I feel like you guys like it so much that it deserves it.

Even though I do like The Good Life, I feel like 4 the rest of my life slightly edges it.

Also realtalk92, are you a Bruno Mars fan?

DJ I agree. I think between the two 4 The Rest of My Life is a stronger song. He was definitly channeling Prince on that song (singing style)

Yes, I love Bruno Mars, how about you? I finally got to see him in concert this summer. It was a great show! His music is very eclectic and he is a talented songwriter and performer. Its refreshing to see a pop artist really take risks musically. He has came A LONG ways and I am happy for his success.

When you mentioned that you liked doo wop R&B it made me think of him. I honestly haven't given him a fair shake. I haven't listened to any of his albums in full just singles here and there. I do recognize his talent and the talent behind his producing team The Smeagles or something like that.

I'd be down for participating in this! Can I jump in on the next album or should I listen to and review the last one y'all posted?

Yaaay, Welcome!

I haven't even reviewed the Janet album yet, so that would probably be the best place to start! And you're more than welcome to review any of the others as well.





DJ, maybe you should post the list of albums in your OP so people know what we're on!

Something like:
Past Album1:
Past Album2:
Past Album3:
Current:

Thanks lady! I'll listen to the Janet album again (haven't heard that one in fo evah) and write a little something.

And I agree that there should be a list of previously reviewed albums in the OP.

Okay great! I will write mine tomorrow if I remember! I was really sick at work yesterday and I usually just listen to them while I work, but I did not want to listen to ANYTHING!

I'm looking forward to it, though I love Janet! Can't wait for your input! :D

Good idea. I'll edit the OP to reflect something similar.

Awesome, gonna start listening soon!

Do some old school 60s & 70s R&B and I'd be willing to join in.
I've been listening to a hell of a lot of that over the past year.

That would be a good idea to do something even older school than just the 90s that I've been covering. I will leave it to you to suggest the next album then. We are covering Soul, R&B and Neo Soul so whatever you think we should listen to after the reviews are in for Janet then we'll go with that.

http://img.over-blog-kiwi.com/0/11/9...ar-frontal.jpg

I don't know if this album has been mentioned already in this thread but it can definitely be considered a classic in the Neo soul genre. I saw this guy give a surprise performance with ?estlove at Bonnaroo in 2012 and it blew me away.

Close enough lol... There called the "The Smeezingtons" which consists of Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence and Ari Levine. It is a songwriting group and they use to write songs for other artists and they collaborate on alot of Bruno's songs as well. He writes alot of his own music too as well as for other artists. I think he is a pretty good songwriter too.

I think you should definitly check out his new album, "Unorthodox Jukebox". I havent purchased it yet but Ive listened to alot of the songs on the album and its SOOO eclectic. Bruno does Doo Wop but he also does, rock, reggae, soul, funk, r&b, jazz, carribean, etc. He does everything. He has an old school feel to his music and he is heavily inspired by alot of 70s and 80s music. The "Locked Out of Heaven" songs sounds like something "The Police" would make. He said he was inspired by them when he wrote that song.

You have to make some time out for D Angelo and Bruno!!! lol

That was actually going to be the next album I was going to ask if I could review!!! Brown Sugar is definitly a classic and it is a very important album for the Neo Soul genre. This album was really the album that innovated the genre "Neo Soul" and really propelled it to the mainstream arena. I posted some of that concert in the D Angelo thread. It looked like it was really good. I was fortunate to finally see him live last summer and it was an amazing show! I was suppose to see him along with Erykah Badu this past Saturday but he cancelled because of a medical emergency :( I just pray that he gets well soon. Alot of people were saying that his illness is drug-related and I hope that is not the case because he has been through so much within the last 10 years.

I will check out Bruno Mars on my own personally.

To keep everything in order though,

The next submission is going to be from Urban then we may do one from D' Angelo and then if Sugar wants to suggest one she can. She still hasn't yet but I don't know if she has one in mind that she'd like to suggest then it will rotate back to me putting up a suggestion.

^
Sounds cool, enjoying the thread.

Sugar is Arya Stark btw. I just couldn't remember that off the top of my head to type it out.

^ Thanks because I had no clue who you were talking about lol Are you guys stilling listening to Robin's album or still listening to Velvet Rope?

I've listened to Velvet Rope. I just need to stop being lazy and write up my thoughts on it.

Its a great album and yeah that performance at Bonnaroo was really special. They played a 6 or 7 song set covering Led Zeppelin, Jimi, and The Beatles. And all the covers were lesser known songs by those artists Electric Ladyland and What It Is And What Should Never Be. Its ashame if he is having health issues due to drugs the guy is a legend.

^ I think he has alot of potential to be put into that category. I think if he brings it with his next release and expose a new generation to his sound he has a shot at that title. Its hard to say at this point because so much time has went by and although he has two classic albums under is belt, that sound is no where to be found mainstream wise. It would be interesting if he could bring it back to the radio.

He is the last great soul/funk artist in my opinion

I didn't listen to Velvet Rope soo you guys can move on lmao. Sorry.

I'm going to write something about it in the morning because I did listen to it but yeah we'll move on.

Janet deserves some type of review that was a stellar album

Review on Velvet Rope


This album really touched me personally because it has helped me through alot of my own issues and its very therapeutic

1. "Interlude: Twisted Elegance"
2. "Velvet Rope" (featuring Vanessa-Mae)--- The production is very cool and really reveals what the album is really about

3. "You"----- I love this song and the "WAR" sample. I love the lyrics and how the entire song is about herself although she is referring to herself as "you". She criticizes herself, encourages herself, hides from herself, and enlightens herself. I enjoyed it because at the end of the day the choices we make is ultimately in our hands at the end of the day. The dark instrumental and Janets dark singing really brings the song to life as well. I really enjoy the live performance of this.




4. "Got 'til It's Gone" (featuring Q-Tip and Joni Mitchell)---- Another good song with a sample that was used very well. I love the simplisticity of the lyrics because it doesnt overshadow the stellar production. I love the sensual way Janet sings the song and Q kills his rap verse. J Dilla put his foot in the production!


5. "Interlude: Speaker Phone"
6. "My Need" ------- I really love this song. It reminds me alot of Marvin Gayes "Your All I Need To Get By" during the chorus. I think it is one of the most underrated songs on the album
7. "Interlude: Fasten Your Seatbelts"
8. "Go Deep" ---- I love this song because its a nice fun summer tune to groove too. The music video is hilarious for this lol
9. "Free Xone"--- Lyrically this was very clever and creative. She discusses homophobia and the power of being free to be who you are. The production is very very stellar and mixes elements of funk, soul, electronic and R&B. Janet is almost rapping/spoken word on this song instead of singing.
10. "Interlude: Memory"
11. "Together Again"--- Great dance song
12. "Interlude: Online"
13. "Empty" ---- This song had stellar production that consisted of electronic, techno and r&b I think this is also a underrated gem on the song. Janet lyrics are deep and personal and she brings alot of emotion in the song
14. "Interlude: Full"
15. "What About"---- This song discusses spousal abuse and has alot of rock elements to it which I love. Janet is mad on this song and brings so much darkness and emotion to it
16. "Every Time" ---- I am not a huge fan of this song but I enjoyed Janets personal lyrics.
17. "Tonight's the Night" --- this song discusses bisexuality and Janet is singing to both her partners as they are making love. This is actually a Rod Stewart cover but she slightly changes some of the wording. I thought this song was okay
18. "I Get Lonely"--- I love how vunerable Janet was when she was singing this song. She put so much emotion into this song almost as if she was whining or crying.
19. "Rope Burn" - This is a very sexual song but it is very subdue and not so in your face. I think the lyrics are very creative and clever with how she expresses how she wants to make love to her partner.
20. "Anything" --- another sensual song by Janet. Her vocals are very seductive and sexy. Her lyrics are very sensual but not so in your face. It is a soul jam for you and that special someone
21. "Interlude: Sad"
22. "Special" (includes the hidden track "Can't Be Stopped", which starts at 3:42)---- Special is a great song with a great message which is what I mostly love about. It allows you to embrace the uniqueness of who you are and what makes you special. Cant Be Stopped also is a great song with a good message that gives you strength and motivation despite what others might think of you.


Overall, it was a great album and not only did we get to personally see and feel what Janet experienced and has gone through, we also can relate to these emotions and experiences with her.

I actually listened to this again, but since I didn't generally care for it my review is going to be pretty short....sorry!

So basically, Janet Jackson has always been better off singing harder-hitting hip hop songs than ballads. Her and Michael both to be quite frank. So I didn't really care for this album because there was too much ballad-ness going on.

Highlights:
What About
Go Deep

Poop:
Everytime
Tonight's the Night (this one was way too girly-pop sounding. Like something Mandy Moore or Britney Spears would be singing back in the day).

In short: Give me Rhythm Nation any day over Velvet Rope!

This album just hits like a big nostalgic brick to me. I have some wonderful memories associated with certain tracks but I enjoyed this album during my play through.


I Get Lonely and Everytime were two of the really big ones that sent me down memory lane.

The funky track Go Deep is also one of my favorites. I really like a large majority of the tracks on this album and instead of going through each one and end up listing damn near the whole album. I will just say that I only skipped about 2 tracks and they were near the of the album.

My turn.

I wasn't sure if I should go with something totally obscure or go for a stone cold classic.
So I decided to go for a stone cold classic.....

http://marcmyers.typepad.com/.a/6a00...5a7f970b-500wi
(Curtis Mayfield's S/T debut album from 1970 if you're unfamiliar with the cover)

I gave it a listen but I will re-listen to it one more time before I write up a mini-review later on tonight of Curtis

Can I just say you guys are amazing!
Brought back so many memories, I might just sit back and watch what albums you suggest

Why thank you but instead of sitting back and watching which albums we suggest. Why don't you join in and listen to the current ones and give us your opinion/feedback on it?


I'm going to move on to another album and post my review of the last one after it most likely.

I guess it wasn't too well received since I haven't seen anyone else post their review of it.

Great album! Excellent. I really think this man is underrated in the R&B world. Everything from the production, lyrical content and vocals were on point. I think this is one of the most important albums for African Americans during this period. Like James Brown, Curtis presented alot of things that affected blacks such as injustice, way of life, values, inequality etc.

moving along.

lol Thankyou!!! :bowdown::afro:

This is such an important album for the 90s and especially to kick off the neo soul movement to the mid to late 90s. I think this is one of the best albums that has came out over the last 20 years and one of the greatests "debut's" of all time. While I dont think it is "innovative" I think that the way D Angelo fused various styles of R&B, Jazz, Funk, Blues, and Gospel was beautifully executed in a highly creative and artistic way. Its amazing how much this album has resonated and influenced. With this album we got a chance to see just how amazing D Angelo was as a songwriter, musician, producer and arranger. I liked how the different themes that were discussed were very "universal" such as love, betrayel, encouragement, wisdom, sexuality etc but were covered over complicted/complex production. I also appreciate the fact that real instruments were used which makes sense since alot of the styles were heavily influenced by 70s R&B. (Not to mention he played majority of the instruments himself) This is a pretty solid album with no real weak track on it.

My personal favorites are: When We Get By (godammit I loveeeeee this song), Sh!t damn motherf!cker (this is a funkyyyyyy @ss song lol), Me and Those Dreaming Eyes of Mine, Lady (smooth vocals ..D Angelo can sing to me anyday at any time of the week lol), Smooth, and Brown Sugar (classic)

Overall this is a 5 star album which I consider a MUST have and of course a classic!!!

It's funny that you say this line. Did you even listen to Curtis? I feel like that album would be up there in a greatest debuts list for many of the same reasons that you list off for D'Angelo.

Don't Worry and We The People Who Are Darker than Blue are definitely my favorite tracks from that album. I love the fact that all of the songs (dance ones and ballads) get extensions and end up changing up mid song at times.
Miss Black America is the only song that seems out of place on the whole album. It ends up coming off a bit goofy sounding imo.


On Brown Sugar, I ended up liking all of the same as your favorites but I can't believe you left out Cruisin!

Cruisin' has a Smokey Robinson feel to it that I end up just loving.

next one since Sugar is busy with real life stuff, I'll skip her turn and go back to me.

Well... Curtis's self titled debut is a classic which goes without saying lol I even insisted Curtis is highly underrated. Its Curtis Mayfield!!!!!! LOL He is a legend in my eyes and an underrated songwriting genius. I listened the album but didnt give it a detailed review.Its very critically acclaim unlike "Brown Sugar" but yes, I feel the same way about the Curtis Mayfield album and the songs you mentioned. I love the fusion of sounds and instrumentation over the political lyrics. It was a very important album for the era. All the songs are powerful, uplifting and have kick ass production.


I LOVE Cruisin as well I was just listing my top favorites. Crusin IS a Smokey Robinson song that D Angelo covered. I liked that he gave it his own flair as well.

Get Lifted plays out like a romantic comedy but I don't even care because of Kanye's producing and as I'm re-listening to this album all the singles that I loved in the past come crashing back to me and I fall in love with them all over again.

I love the first half of the album up until Ordinary People. I never liked that single.

Stay With You and Refuge(When it's cold outside) are the only two redeeming tracks imo near the end of the album.

Also I had no idea that there was some kind of Fugees remix of So High? Well the copy that I ended up downloading was the deluxe edition and a Fugees song was mixed into So High. Well it was just Lauryn Hill and none of the others but still FUGEES!!!