Oh boy, here we go with that Neo Soul shit...
At the time, it was hailed as an originator of a new subgenre called "Neo Soul." I'm convinced anything with "neo" in front of is bound to fail. And, here's a shocker, neo soul became a cliche within two years. But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. This album cannot and should not be blamed for poor imitators. Like most original articles, it's very much worth the price of admission. Ignore everything that came after it and you'll feel like I did at the time: this is a brilliant record. Contains a few hit singles with "On & On," "Next Lifetime" and "Other Side of the Game."
~Austin
Just as good live as it was in the studio
The band, although not The Roots at this particular show, bears a striking resemblence to the Roots crew in the way they play these live versions. And that's impressive. The songs sound just as good on this live record as they did on Baduizm. Most of that album sees performance here, "Next Lifetime" getting a particularly exceptional run through. Some cover songs are added for substance, the best of the lot being a great take on Roy Ayers' "Searchin'." Overall, it's a live record but it adds just enough change ups and shakes up the formula just enough to make a more than momentary impression.
~Austin
Can you say, "future classic"?
Doing what any artist who was named the leader of new sub-genre of music would do, Erykah Badu followed her early success with silence and returned three years later with an epic of an album that refused to be categorized. It's a brilliant record from start to finish, let's just get that out of the way now. However, this is not the same Erykah Badu that made Baduizm. Her songs have taken on an entirely new maturity and depth that they just didn't have before. Not to even mention, the track sequence is phenomenally good, making it hard to not sit through the entire album. Overall, it's an epic. A gorgeous album of eye opening diversity that combines deeper meaning soul numbers with catchier, for-the-hell-of-it kind of tracks. Really, one of the top five albums of the new millenium so far.
~Austin
Oh man, just you wait, I'll be flogging this one even more...
First of all, this is not an EP. It was advertised as one, but it's not. It's damn enar an hour long. That's a long ass EP. It took her three years. THREE YEARS. To come up with this. THIS. *sigh* I don't get it. The first three or four songs are absolutely flat out great songs that update the Mama's Gun sound ever so slightly but still retain the great feel of that album. After that, whoo boy. Downhill would be an understatement. It goes into these psuedo-hip hop meanderings about tough life and revolution (thanks oh so much to those ever so wack imposters, dead prez, who make a cameo appearance). The "Love of My Life" remix is an insult to the original version and the cover of Donald Byrd's "Think Twice" just sucks on the principal of placing it right in the middle of the god awful second half of the album. First half is good, but starts to sound like Mama's Gun outtakes after a while and the second half is an insult. Avoid at all costs.
~Austin
