So first off, I don’t know if I’m seeing things but doesn’t Vandross look like Mos Def on the cover of this album? Anyway…
Tag: Pop Soul
Aaliyah (2001)
This is like a British LP from the ’60s where it was released around the same time as a hit single but, in order to encourage you to buy the single instead of the LP (which you presumably buy anyway?) the single is left off. (Not the American version of selling you the single twice …
Songs in A Minor (2001) by Alicia Keys
This is a pretty impressive record given Keys’ age, especially when she first started writing it, and her inexperience in the industry. It’s flawed, for sure, but I think it’s important to keep in mind how damn young she was.
Secrets (1996) by Toni Braxton
I swear I’d listened to at least one other Toni Braxton album before but I have no reviews so I must have given it up before I got to three listens. So I guess this is my first proper listen to a Toni Braxton album.
Back in the High Life (1986) by Steve Winwood
Traffic are one of those bands I want to love more than I actually do. They’re one of those bands who might have been All Time great had they just had a great songwriter. There are so many moments in their music that I get really excited about, but then the quality of the songs …
Gettin’ Ready (1966) by The Temptations
This is one of the better Temptations albums, in part because of the qualify of the original material and in part because of the (slightly) contrasting styles of its two producers, which gives at least some variation.
Older (1996) by George Michael
This is my third George Michael album, in addition to at least one Wham album, and I can say, without doubt, that I’ve never liked his aesthetic. But he often makes up for that with his talent, as a performer (not just a great singer but as a versatile instrumentalist, and some who commits), as …
Seal (1991)
I know one Seal song. (I’m too young for “Crazy.”) Seal was not big in North America and is known here to my generation for “Kiss From a Rose” and, for younger people, as being Heidi Klum’s ex-husband. So I didn’t know what to expect.
All for You (2001) by Janet Jackson
Well this is a horny album.
Fine Young Cannibals (1985)
This is a perfectly fine ’80s soul record. Fine, just fine.
Daydream (1995) by Mariah Carey
I’m on my fourth ish Mariah Carey album. And, with listening to her actual albums, I’ve come to believe she may be the most technically gifted female vocalist in pop or R&B. (I might go even further than that.) With every album of hers I listen to, I become more and more convinced that she …
The Gold Experience (1995) by O(+>
I can’t claim to know Prince’s catalogue that well, especially since the ’80s. So you can’t take what I say as gospel. But, listening to this, I’m inclined to agree with the critical consensus that says it’s his best record of the ’90s (or one of them). There may well be better ones, of course, …
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990) by George Michael
More than his debut album, this record strikes me as the work of a singer-songwriter, one who also happens to be an incredibly dynamic performer, and a multi-instrumentalist. I’ve only listened to Faith a couple of times, but this feels more personal. And I must say I like it more. As an aside: the fact …
Guilty (1980) by Barbra Streisand
I feel like I grew up with people making fun of these two. I was still an impressionable teenager when I first encountered Mecha-Streisand. And, though the only Barry Gibb impersonation I can think of is relatively recent (i.e. I was an adult when I saw it), I feel like I must have been exposed …
More hits by The Supremes (1965)
You know what tells your audience you value them? Leading off your latest album with the last song from your previous (non-tribute) LP. But when the inner voice of self-criticism tells you that maybe you shouldn’t to do that you say to yourself “But hey, this is a new mix that they don’t have yet!”
Mariah Carey (1990)
“Whitney Houston but hotter.”
Real People (1980) by Chic
I’m definitely more receptive to Chic’s version of disco than I am to many others, I guess because sometimes it’s hard to tell whether they’re disco or funk. (And I, of course, prefer funk greatly to disco.)
Main Course (1975) by Bee Gees
This album is considered a bit of a landmark in the Bee Gees catalogue because it marks the transition (or the beginning of the transition?) from their earlier baroque pop sound to their disco sound, as well as the introduction of Barry’s falsetto. This is as far as I know one of their albums.Personally, I’m …
Diana Ross (1970)
This album was the attempt to launch Ross as a solo artist, without the Supremes, and that seems very true when you take a look at the cover art. It’s the cover art, even more than the music, that feels like a declaration of independence. It’s amazing to the me that the cover has been …
diana (1980) by Diana Ross
Diana Ross’ biggest hit, which I really had no idea about. In part, I guess, because I didn’t know “I’m Coming Out” was her song. I knew it, but I didn’t know it was her. Teaming with the creative team behind Chic seems like a pretty inspired idea, at least from a commercial standpoint. Also, …
ABC (1970) by Jackson 5
This is a slickly produced Motown record with a lead vocalist who is entirely too young. I don’t necessarily blame the people alive in 1970 who celebrated this group for what happened with Michael Jackson, but did nobody stop and wonder about this? It was probably “cute”, right?
Dance Party (1965) by Martha and the Vandellas
This album has the reputation as being the group’s best, but I have no idea if that’s true or not, as it’s my first experience of the group in LP form. (I know their hits from oldies radio.) This album contains three of the group’s biggest hits – at least one of which had been …
That’s the Way of the World (1975) by Earth, Wind and Fire
This album is from a commission soundtrack. I have never seen the movie, FYI.
No Jacket Required (1985) by Phil Collins
The more I listen to Phil Collins’ solo work – and, to a lesser extent, post-Gabriel Genesis – the more I have come to respect him, both as a performer and, especially, as a songwriter songwriter. His sense of melody is really strong and his lyrics are definitely above average. I know from Genesis that …
Whitney Houston (1985)
I read somewhere that this album was the best selling album by a woman in history. (At the time, obviously.) I don’t know whether or not that’s true but it is the best selling debut album of all time and has sold 22 million copies. Why?
Make It Big (1984) by Wham!
I have paid virtually no attention to Wham! throughout my life. Yes, I was vaguely aware of their biggest hits because how could I not be? But I knew they were not for me and so I ignored them.
New York Tendaberry (1969) by Laura Nyro
This is my second Laura Nyro record and I find myself once again struck by her performances as opposed to her songs.
Off the Wall (1979) by Michael Jackson
I was listening to this record and I was struck once again by the fact that I just don’t like Michael Jackson. I was so struck by this that I posted a crude joke about him on my podcast’s social media which I will refrain from including in this review because it’s both not the …
Perfect Angel (1974) by Minnie Riperton
Jimbo: Not that sure. I think we better come up with a backup plan. Uhh, let’s see here. Hey, bookie! Wha- what’s the halftime show gonna be?Bookie: You haven’t heard?! John Stamos’ older brother Richard Stamos is gonna sing ‘Loving You’.Ned: I love that song.Jimbo: ‘Loving You’? That’s perfect! Come on Ned, Middle Park’s gonna …
Where Did Our Love Go (1964) by The Supremes
A lot of Motown albums don’t hold up that well 55 years later, as many of them if not most of them are sort of built the same way that rock and roll albums of the ’50s were built – a bunch of hit singles, their b-sides and then a bunch of dross that was …