― Jordan, Friday, 10 October 2008 15:29 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah I think I said this on a D'Angelo thread recently but I got a lot less interested in that dude when I realized my three favorite songs he's ever done (Untitled, Lady and Be Here) were all co-written by Saadiq.
― some dude, Friday, 10 October 2008 15:49 (fifteen years ago) link
In the 90s he was in a band called Tony Toni Tone. Robert Christgau is a huge fan of their 96 album, House Of Music...
House of Music [Mercury, 1996]Launched by a hilariously gutsy Al Green hommage that knows the great man's every moue and off-beat, Raphael Saadiq and his henchmen give the r&b revival what for, constructing a generous original style from a varied history they know inside out--Tempts, Sly, Blue Magic, Kurtis Blow. And for almost every sound they provide a sharp song, which is more than Holland-Dozier-Holland and Gamble-Huff could manage when they were compelled to stick to one. Defeating second-half trail-off and a CD-age windiness the band isn't beatwise enough to beat, Saadiq's flexible, sensitive, slightly nasal tenor, spelled by the grain of D'Wayne Wiggins's workaday baritone, recasts the tradition in its image. Wasn't sampling supposed to strangle this sort of virtuosity at the root? A
― kornrulez6969, Friday, 10 October 2008 16:47 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah i know tony toni tone, the hits at least, but i mean he's had a ton of albums out w/ different projects, it'd be interesting for someone who's heard a lot of it to sort it all out.
― some dude, Friday, 10 October 2008 16:47 (fifteen years ago) link
house of music>>>>this (as far as retro soul).
― titchyschneiderMk2, Friday, 10 October 2008 16:50 (fifteen years ago) link
tthe last 2 TTT albums are mostly brilliant
― First Dude (The Reverend), Saturday, 11 October 2008 01:03 (fifteen years ago) link
(xpost) agree. A little Motown Emulation goes a long way with me so this is my - thus far - least favorite of Saadiq's albums. And I love the cat.
― Capitaine Jay Vee, Saturday, 11 October 2008 02:02 (fifteen years ago) link
This is my album of the year.
― Joseph McCombs, Saturday, 11 October 2008 16:06 (fifteen years ago) link
Keep meaning to check this cd out. I shoulda gone to see one of Saadiq's several recent shows at the Black Cat in DC. I saw Tony Toni Tone open for Prince a long time ago at the Capital Centre and they were great.
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 11 October 2008 19:31 (fifteen years ago) link
just bought House of Music for $1.75 at amazon. There's another one out there for $2.
― Granny Dainger, Saturday, 11 October 2008 21:56 (fifteen years ago) link
digging this more than i thought i would
― Jordan, Monday, 13 October 2008 13:51 (fifteen years ago) link
i bet geir would like it (since he only likes black people when they write good melodies)
― Jordan, Monday, 13 October 2008 13:52 (fifteen years ago) link
does he like white people when they don't?
― Granny Dainger, Monday, 13 October 2008 14:12 (fifteen years ago) link
well, he's pretty into Blur.
― some dude, Monday, 13 October 2008 14:13 (fifteen years ago) link
pretty solid album all around. definitely captures the era nicely.....
― Life Begins at Death (Bo Jackson Overdrive), Wednesday, 15 October 2008 04:54 (fifteen years ago) link
The album is aight. "100 Yard Dash" and "Big Easy" and "Oh Girl" are jams. This kind of stuff lives and dies by the songwriting, though.
― fifth from the b (The Reverend), Wednesday, 15 October 2008 07:58 (fifteen years ago) link
The album starts rockily, however, with "Sure Hope You Mean It", a clever rewrite of "How Sweet It Is" that suffers from a bad mix. Against Saadiq's exuberant delivery (he's a superlatively smooth vocalist), the percussion sounds slightly off-beat: The tambourine shakes before hitting on the beat, creating an audio illusion of being too fast, while the snare rolls into the verses sound too slow, like they've been manipulated from a faster performance.
^^^this is dumb
― Jordan, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:08 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah i read that graph a couple times before i gave up on trying to understand it
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:20 (fifteen years ago) link
can you imagine if every indie record with a shaky rhythm track got evaluated that way on PF?
― some dude, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:21 (fifteen years ago) link
Against Saadiq's exuberant delivery (he's a superlatively smooth vocalist), the percussion sounds slightly off-beat: The tambourine shakes before hitting on the beat, creating an audio illusion of being too fast, while the snare rolls into the verses sound too slow, like they've been manipulated from a faster performance.
This sounds awesome
― Granny Dainger, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:22 (fifteen years ago) link
I got to do some work in the old Toni!Tony!Tone!/En Vogue studio and it was awesome. love this guy, have yet to hear the album PF reviewer as usual doesn't know wtf he's talking about.
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:24 (fifteen years ago) link
I mean lolz what does he think of all the weirdo syncopation on Voodoo fr instance
yeah, the track feels good and it's intentional. great laid-back shuffle on the drums and some nice raw tambourine.
still loving this record btw.
― Jordan, Wednesday, 22 October 2008 18:26 (fifteen years ago) link
good convo between me, Bozelka, and Crutis about this here album (with some tangents)
kjb (11:09:58 PM): treat yourself to RAPHAEL SAADIQ!!!!rev (11:10:41 PM): love saadiq but his new album is so worthy and boringkjb (11:10:56 PM): worthy? what do u mean?crut (11:10:56 PM): worthy and boringrev (11:11:41 PM): it's a well-made but boring and formalismrev (11:11:56 PM): haha that barely made sense at allrev (11:12:37 PM): basically, fine craft but no excellencecrut (11:12:43 PM): yeahkjb (11:12:50 PM): gotcha but I love the shit out of itcrut (11:12:53 PM): that's a good descriptionkjb (11:13:05 PM): u don't dig it either, crut?crut (11:13:06 PM): it's not funky enoughrev (11:13:26 PM): "Still Ray" >>>>> The Way I See Itcrut (11:13:59 PM): it's prob better than sharon jonescrut (11:14:05 PM): I need to listen to it againkjb (11:14:13 PM): oh big time even though I love her...amazing live!rev (11:14:26 PM): sharon jones: much better live than on recordrev (11:14:35 PM): actually, prob best live show I've ever seenkjb (11:14:36 PM): it's the truthkjb (11:14:46 PM): just brilliantcrut (11:14:47 PM): awesomerev (11:14:49 PM): ^^^rev (11:15:28 PM): when I saw her, she covered "There Was a Time" which is my favorite JB songrev (11:15:32 PM): XDkjb (11:15:50 PM): when I saw her, she was critizing Bush/Iraq and this dude came up to her (small club) and said something like "I"m an Irish-American and I fought for this country and I hate what you're saying!"kjb (11:16:05 PM): and she just stared this fucker down and started ripping him a new onerev (11:16:17 PM): hahahakjb (11:16:23 PM): and the band started to hold her back and she was "no I"m all right"kjb (11:17:28 PM): "hey that's all well and good 4 u but I have every right to say my piece and tons of African-Americans fought for this country and got no parade, etc."kjb (11:17:41 PM): intense shit but i loved itrev (11:18:14 PM): v aweskjb (11:18:28 PM): what I LOVE about The Way I See It is now short it is....it's almost scandlous.....the 2-minute songs make me guffaw at the endkjb (11:18:38 PM): scandalous tookjb (11:19:13 PM): one of the many things I love about it, that isrev (11:19:42 PM): another problem is I kinda feel like he subsumed his personality to the period piecesrev (11:20:38 PM): like, he could write better, more personal songs, but he felt it wouldn't be in line with the conceptkjb (11:21:45 PM): true but I'm a sucker for hooks and songs and I guess craftrev (11:23:06 PM): I don't really feel like the hooks and songs are there thorev (11:23:23 PM): they are, but they're so perfunctorycrut (11:24:01 PM): it's not raw enuffkjb (11:24:28 PM): well it IS a Motown (not even Stax) simulationkjb (11:24:53 PM): what did u thnk of TTT's House of Music?crut (11:25:38 PM): it's not catchy/hooky enough to live up to the Motown soundrev (11:25:38 PM): the fact that it IS a Motown sim is reason #1 it has no excuse for weak tunage!crut (11:25:44 PM): ^^^^ rev otmmrev (11:26:04 PM): HoM: v good, but prefer Sons of Soulrev (11:26:31 PM): "Let's Get Down" and "Thinking of You" are prob my fave TTT singles thokjb (11:28:04 PM): well there ya have it...as a hooks/song guy, I can't stop playing the thingrev (11:28:44 PM): it prob has more in common with northern soul obscurities than the sound of young americakjb (11:29:19 PM): truekjb (11:30:15 PM): speaking of which, Bimble told em today that Joy Division stole a riff from (northern?) soul obscurity Nolan Porter!!!kjb (11:30:19 PM): em = merev (11:30:58 PM): wouldn't surprise me that much
― beggin-ass keith (The Reverend), Monday, 15 December 2008 07:50 (fifteen years ago) link
love the sound, performances and production of this album but the songwriting is pretty weak, as are the lyrics. its motown lite, for duffy fans.
― titchyschneiderMk2, Monday, 15 December 2008 16:34 (fifteen years ago) link
i forgot about bozelka, is he still on the board or is he just under some unrecognizable username now?
― pipey longcocking (some dude), Monday, 15 December 2008 16:37 (fifteen years ago) link
he actually sounds bored tbh, like it was a rote exercise in retroism, and he had to hold back while making it. not that thats a bad thing - some of his lyrics and songwriting has really gone downhill since leaving TTT (dwayne needs to come back) but saadiq sounds like he just went down this road cos there was no other option for a guy like him these days, so he took the starbucks soul route.
― titchyschneiderMk2, Monday, 15 December 2008 16:38 (fifteen years ago) link
i like this album and the songs sounded very good live, but really the 2 at the end that kind of break out of the production aesthetic a little ("Never Give You Up" and "Sometimes," not the terrible Jay-Z remix), totally destroy the rest.
― pipey longcocking (some dude), Monday, 15 December 2008 16:38 (fifteen years ago) link
im surprised its not being promoted more. youd think theyd sell him as the 'authentic' retro soul artist.
― titchyschneiderMk2, Monday, 15 December 2008 16:41 (fifteen years ago) link
you're thinking way too fucking hard about the motives and marketing behind this album. guy's been paying tribute to the same music for 20 years, he's just doing it a lil more overtly and slavishly now, for better or worse.
― Mansquito Bay (some dude), Monday, 15 December 2008 16:43 (fifteen years ago) link
errrr that overtness/slavishness is precisely what makes it so different to anything hes done before. before it was always balanced with a bit of modernity.
― titchyschneiderMk2, Monday, 15 December 2008 16:45 (fifteen years ago) link
"Big Easy" will likely make my top 15, but the rest is masterful cryogenics.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 15 December 2008 17:24 (fifteen years ago) link
He's starting a tour of the states at the end of the month. recommendations from anyone whose seen him live before?
― Moreno, Monday, 2 February 2009 03:53 (fifteen years ago) link
I don't tremendously care for the album, but I imagine this stuff would play v. well live.
― TACO BIZZLE (The Reverend), Monday, 2 February 2009 04:03 (fifteen years ago) link
I saw him open for John Legend a couple months ago...pretty sharp set, although it was pretty much only the new album (+ that Lucy Pearl song), done in that style with the band in retro costumes and everything. i imagine as a headliner he does a wider variety of material.
― some dude, Monday, 2 February 2009 04:23 (fifteen years ago) link
I can't wait for CJ's album whenever that comes out.
― Pregnant M.I.A. (The Brainwasher), Wednesday, 11 February 2009 01:15 (fifteen years ago) link
I saw him open for John Legend― some dude, Monday, February 2, 2009 4:23 AM (1 week ago)
this is so RONG btw
watching him perform on pbs @ lol harvard - who knows who his sidekick lady is omg ws
― ice cr?m, Friday, 13 February 2009 03:44 (fifteen years ago) link
i hounded CJ for an interview for like 2 months and kept getting the runaround...maybe i'll start bugging his sister again, i still wanna talk to dude.
― who's been dubbed Fanta Pants because of his bright orange shorts (some dude), Friday, 13 February 2009 03:47 (fifteen years ago) link
There's this song on his myspace "Losing You" that just blows my mind and I can't find an mp3 of it anywhere, I've been looking for months. I read somewhere that he had an entire Marvin-esque album ready to be released but it got canned and the stuff he's doing now is more modern-sounding.
― someone who seems to only rep for ghastly prefab autotuned pop (The Brainwasher), Friday, 13 February 2009 03:53 (fifteen years ago) link
anyone see him play live? he's coming next week
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 10 March 2009 20:45 (fifteen years ago) link
GO GO GO GO GO GO
FUCKING FANTASTIC LIVE SHOW
― Wes HI DEREson (HI DERE), Tuesday, 10 March 2009 20:50 (fifteen years ago) link
^^^seconded
― lex pretend, Tuesday, 10 March 2009 20:53 (fifteen years ago) link
lex has he played in london and i missed out?
― just sayin, Tuesday, 10 March 2009 23:10 (fifteen years ago) link
amazing!!
can't wait!
― s1ocki, Tuesday, 10 March 2009 23:12 (fifteen years ago) link
aw, he's playing in chicago on thursday, wish i could go
― Tracy Michael Jordan Catalano (Jordan), Tuesday, 10 March 2009 23:13 (fifteen years ago) link
holy SHIT was that a great great show
― Matos W.K., Wednesday, 11 March 2009 00:47 (fifteen years ago) link
yayyyyyyy im so happy he's coming next week.
― s1ocki, Wednesday, 11 March 2009 02:08 (fifteen years ago) link
I was going to see him live with Janelle Monae but I had a class that I couldn't afford to miss :-\
― messageboard killa/ilx gorilla (The Brainwasher), Wednesday, 11 March 2009 06:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Just saw him singing about the Toyota Prius and playing guitar in a Toyota Prius commercial
― curmudgeon, Saturday, 24 November 2012 02:20 (eleven years ago) link
new song with rob fonksta bacon on the guitarhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRvD6fWJsJQ
album drops in august, titled jimmy lee
cant believe its been 8 years since stone rollin
― big city slam (Spottie), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 18:17 (four years ago) link
Fantastic news. He takes his time, but the results are worth it.
― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 12 June 2019 18:19 (four years ago) link
Ooh I love this song. Not as retro as his other records.
― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 12 June 2019 18:22 (four years ago) link
yeah gives me hope he may scrap the throwback sounds of the last two records. Both are great and all but I'd like to hear him on a more adventurous/modern path.
― big city slam (Spottie), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 19:08 (four years ago) link
Nice. Might be making things up, but it sounds like it was influenced by his work with Solange.
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 19:25 (four years ago) link
oh yeah def, that opening vocal melody
here's an interview from months back with some detailshttps://www.okayplayer.com/originals/raphael-saadiq-interview-jimmy-lee-album.html
Jimmy Lee tracklist:
01 Sinners Prayer02 So Ready03 This World Is Drunk04 Something Keeps Calling05 Kings Fall06 I’m Feeling Love07 My Walk08 Belongs to God09 Dottie’s Interlude10 Glory to the Veins11 Rikers Island12 Rikers Island Redux13 Rearview
― big city slam (Spottie), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 20:06 (four years ago) link
― big city slam (Spottie)
i don't know, he really set the prog world on fire with all that mellotron all over "stone rollin", not sure he'd want to let that important fanbase down
― Flood-Resistant Mirror-Drilling Machine (rushomancy), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 23:45 (four years ago) link
stone rollin is really good i undersold it in my post. the production on it is great for sure, I'm just reading up on it now (had no idea what a mellotron was until today). i guess i'd just like the new record to groove/swing a little differently than the last two, altho i'd be perfectly happy with another record in the same vein.
― big city slam (Spottie), Wednesday, 12 June 2019 23:56 (four years ago) link
He was a well-intentioned bore at Pitchfork last year, but I love Stone Rollin'.
― recriminations from the nitpicking woke (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 13 June 2019 00:10 (four years ago) link
Really excited for this! Stone Rollin' is such a brilliant record. Agree that it would be nice if he mixed things up this time round.
― kitchen person, Thursday, 13 June 2019 01:52 (four years ago) link
Interview about new album Jimmy Lee (out today):
http://exclaim.ca/music/article/raphael_saadiq_i_didnt_think_id_ever_make_a_record_like_jimmy_lee
― Herman Woke (cryptosicko), Friday, 23 August 2019 14:05 (four years ago) link
Jeezus:
Jimmy Lee, who was only 42 when he passed away in 1998, isn't the only one of Saadiq's 13 siblings who died young or struggled with drugs. There was another brother, Desmond, who died by suicide trying to escape the clutches of his own addiction. Saadiq's brother Alvie was murdered over a drug-related dispute. One of Saadiq's sisters was a bystander in a police chase — her car was hit during the pursuit and she later died from her injuries. Saadiq learned about her death while recording the 1990 classic "It Never Rains (In Southern California)." There was yet another sister who survived her bout with drugs, but Saadiq says her life was "never quite the same" after getting sober.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 23 August 2019 14:10 (four years ago) link
Anyway, on first listen the album sounds fantastic. The rhythm section cooks -- kudos to the engineer. I'm still getting a hold of the songs.
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 23 August 2019 14:11 (four years ago) link
This is pretty great.
― BlackIronPrison, Friday, 23 August 2019 14:27 (four years ago) link
I read the profile of him in the nytimes recently and yeah, the body count in his story is gut wrenching
― “Hakuna Matata,” a nihilist philosophy (One Eye Open), Friday, 23 August 2019 14:37 (four years ago) link
Did he play all the instruments again?
― change display name (Jordan), Friday, 23 August 2019 14:39 (four years ago) link
this pops on a first spin.
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 23 August 2019 14:42 (four years ago) link
That NY Times piece has me looking forward to this
― curmudgeon, Friday, 23 August 2019 15:45 (four years ago) link
This is a JAM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDOtGrjSlzs
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 23 August 2019 15:50 (four years ago) link
dude has put out a protest album with an honest to god unadorned downtempo guitar gospel track stuck in the middle of it and it works. this album should maybe have a devoted thread if anybody feels inclined?
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 23 August 2019 15:57 (four years ago) link
there is a lot here to unpack for sure
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, 23 August 2019 16:00 (four years ago) link
i had actually just been beating myself up as basic for thinking the most obvious comparison here is To Pimp a Butterfly when i finally got around to the uncredited Kendrick feature
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 23 August 2019 16:40 (four years ago) link
that's a fair comparison
ok second time through. This is damn good!
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, 23 August 2019 16:43 (four years ago) link
Riker's Island tho
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Friday, 23 August 2019 17:16 (four years ago) link
Awesome album. The bass playing throughout is quite something. Looking forward to spending more time with it.
― kitchen person, Friday, 23 August 2019 17:36 (four years ago) link
the production on 'so ready' is elite
― big city slam (Spottie), Friday, 23 August 2019 17:52 (four years ago) link
Saadiq is one of the quiet minor geniuses of modern music of the last 25 years (TTT, D'Angelo, Solange).
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 23 August 2019 18:01 (four years ago) link
had a beer and a couple vape hits at lunch, this album is fucking me up so much! god damn he killed it
― (•̪●) (carne asada), Friday, 23 August 2019 19:12 (four years ago) link
Truly looking forward to listening. "Instant Vintage" is a peerless classic for me.
― Carly Jae Vespen (Capitaine Jay Vee), Friday, 23 August 2019 19:30 (four years ago) link
wow @ "Kings Fall". Incredible performance and production
― “Hakuna Matata,” a nihilist philosophy (One Eye Open), Friday, 23 August 2019 19:43 (four years ago) link
yeah, i've been listening to this all weekend; time for a dedicated threadRaphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee- "He Was My Mama's Son"
― Fuck the NRA (ulysses), Monday, 26 August 2019 16:47 (four years ago) link