My Favorite Albums: D'Angelo's Voodoo

I still remember the first time I heard D'Angelo on a song. It was late 2006 and like most college freshmen, I was watching YouTube clips instead of studying. I had just started getting into the Wu Tang Clan, so I was checking all the singles. So when I heard D's velvet tones on the hook of Method Man's smooth "Break Ups 2 Make Ups", I got hooked. Honestly, I couldn't even understand what this corn-rowed brother was mumbling. All I knew was that this D'Angelo character was crooning something that resonated in my soul. Before long that song became my favorite Meth collaboration - even over the classic "All I Need" with Mary Blige. It's not often I get hypnotized over vocals, so I knew I had to familiarize myself with his work. That was the start of a beautiful artist-fan relationship.

With all that been said, I initially had a somewhat complicated relationship with the Voodoo album. Unlike Brown Sugar - which I loved immediately - Voodoo came across as too artsy, too dark and too moody for me. In retrospect, I really should have played the album as a whole from the get go. Instead I relied on the randomness of Pandora's Brown Sugar station. So while songs like "Send It On" and "Spanish Joint" made an immediate impression, songs like "The Root" and "One Mo'Gin" felt too ponderous in isolation. It wasn't until I decided to listen to the album from the start that I finally got what all the acclaim and hype was about.

Playa Playa

The first thing you hear from the opening few seconds of the album is a cacophany - none of them particularly musical. The song closes in pretty much the same way. There is muffled conversation, the sound of a train approaching and the whistle of a brisk wind. With the atmosphere set, the instruments slowly creep in. A snare here, a strum of Palladino's bass there. Then the horns enter. Then the vocals. By the time D' starts his first verse (about a minute and a half into the track), the atmosphere has been set for the listener. In a way, this track is a perfect metaphor for the album. It's unconventional in structure and length, the mood is carefully orchestrated by gifted live musicians, and it's dripping in mystery. So when the song draws to a close and you hear the sound of the train (from the beginning) departing, the listener knows he/she is coming along for a heck of a journey.

Devil's Pie

This track is special in two ways. It was the first released song from the album - it was in fact released about two years before Voodoo was released. It was also the only track that wasn't produced by a member of the Soulquarian collective. With DJ Premier at the helm, the beat was certainly more modern than the rest of the album albeit not so much that it feels jarring. Here D' rails against the excesses of modern life that poison souls. His lyrics and tone are urgent and filled with conviction. So when he insists that "[he] don't give a f*&k, [he] ain't going out for a slice of the devil's pie," you know he damn well means it.

Left and Right

Voodoo is in a lot of ways a timeless album. Its themes, sound and lyrics give the album this rare ageless quality. But if ever there was a track that reminds the listener of the album's age, it's this one. Here D' invites Red and Meth to the party. The rhyming duo bring their one of a kind chemistry to the proceedings as they brag on their mack skills to the ladies. This is the closest the album got to a conventional song.

The Line

From this point in the album, Pino Palladino's bass becomes a more prominent feature. As far as the lyrics, it isn't clear of what trouble D' sings about and a first time listener might be left wondering what it is exactly that he wants to put on the line. In any case, the groove is the real star here.

Send It On

This is about as close as D' gets to his Brown Sugar self. There is no playing around with negative space, no atmospheric sound effects and no background chatter. With the aid of Roy Hargrove on the

conspicuous trumpet, D' pledges faithfulness to his lover on this song.

Chicken Grease

This is just a straight funky song. The term 'chicken grease' is a metaphor for the grimy sound of the groove. It's a fun song all round and is understandably a staple on D'Angelo tours.

One Mo' Gin

This mid-tempo ballad sees D' imploring an ex to reminisce about the good times shared in the past. It is a slightly more adult friendly version of Michael Jack's "Remember The Time". The instrumentation is sparse (especially when compared to ballads like "Send It On"), but effective. There is a vulnerability in the lyrics that needn't be enveloped by lush instrumentation.

The Root

While "One Mo' Gin" saw D' reminisce about good times with an ex, this song is about the horror and devastation of an ex lover's vengeance. Think of it as a far more cryptic version of Kanye West's "Heartless". Over another minimalist soundscape, our protagonist uses evocative spiritual lyrics to describe the emptiness of heartbreak. Now if you'll excuse me , "In the name of love and war, she took my shield and sword..."

Spanish Joint

I like to think of this as D'Angelo's version of "Don't You Worry About a Thing". Not only because D' and his fellow musicians incorporate Latin rhythm here just like Stevie did. But just like Stevie, D' advises his listeners to keep their heads up and "handle that". To be fair, a couple of minutes into the song there's little chance listeners would be pondering over their problems when they can be gyrating to the rhythm.

Feel Like Making Love

The one thing I cannot stand about new artists doing covers of classic songs is that the essence of these songs can easily get lost. That has never been an issue for D'Angelo. I am yet to hear a D'Angelo cover that I did not love. Whether covering Prince or Stevie Wonder, the Ohio Players or Gangstarr. To put it simply D' has a way with other artists words. Here he covers Roberta Flack's classic and unsurprisingly he and the Soulquarians were able to tap into the soul behind Flack's lyrics.

Greatdayndamornin/Booty

"But I'm still looking for a great day in da mornin". Armed with little more than a guitar lick and Questlove's rimshot, D' crafts the perfect morning alarm song. A new day represents a blank space of unpredictability. As D' points out life is full of turns, twists and mysteries that only resolve themselves over time. As such he can only hope for happiness in a new day. The "Booty" breakdown at the end was just the cherry on top.

Untitled (How Does It Feel?)

The sex song. The nude song. The song that came to define this album more than any other. I could write a whole piece on the video itself so i'll just focus on the song. Firstly this is about as clear a homage to Prince as one can find. The lyrics and vocals shift in an unconventional manner - a technique Prince used in constructing his best ballads. There was also a little Marvin Gaye in the way D' overdubbed his vocals to give the effect of background singers. This is arguably THE defining song of his career - for better or worse.

Africa

An ode to the motherland. From the rustle of the chimes at the songs opening seconds, to the percussion, to D's warm humming, the final track sets up a heavenly atmosphere reminiscent of Brown Sugar's "Higher". Part ode, part lullaby and part history lesson, "Africa" sees D' giving honor to his heritage. With this, D'Angelo ends the album on a warm, opalescent note.

#Dangelo #questlove #voodoo #soul #funk #pino #bass