The Return of D'Angelo and the Rebirth of R&B

[playahaitian]

Bonnaroo Saturday 2012: D’Angelo Returns, Alice Cooper Goes Gaga​

When fans at Manchester, Tennessee's massive musicfest Bonnaroo headed to This Tent at midnight on Saturday for the Roots' "Superjam," they naturally expected to see some special guests. But they didn't know just how special, until the band's drummer ?uestlove announced, "I've been waiting 12 years to say this. Ladies and gentlemen...D'ANGELO!" And out strutted the legendary, reclusive neo-soulman, confirming the day's ongoing Twitter rumors and making his first U.S. stage appearance in more than a decade.

D'Angelo, aka Michael Eugene Archer--perhaps as famous for flaunting his fabulously chiseled naked torso in that music video for "Untitled" as he is for last album, 2000's landmark Voodoo--looked in fine form, rocking a black tank top, short dreadlocks, and a quiet smile. (In a shocking police mugshot from 2010, when he was arrested for propositioning an undercover cop, he'd appeared bloated and unrecognizable.) And more importantly, D'Angelo sounded spectacular. He didn't perform any new tunes from his long-awaited (and long-delayed) third album, but as he shifted between keys and guitar, he and a nine-piece band featuring bass legend Pino Palladino and the Time's Jesse Johnson treated stunned spectators to an epic set of classic funk and rock--including Jimi Hendrix's "Have You Ever Been To Electric Ladyland" and "Power Of Soul," Funkadelic's "Funky Dollar Bill," and "Hit It And Quit It," Sly & The Family Stone's "Babies Makin' Babies," the Beatles' "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window," Led Zeppelin's "What Is And What Should Never Be," and the Time's "My Summertime Thang." Fans in This Tent were practically openly weeping, almost not believing what they were witnessing, as this most super of Superjams went on for an amazing 75 minutes.

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The notoriously shy 38-year-old singer, who has only conducted one interview (with GQ) since 2000 and has battled the law, drugs, and his record label over the years, didn't engage in much stage banter, other than quite rhetorically asking, "Do y'all want us to go home yet?"--a silly question that of course was met with an audience unison chant of "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Eventually D'Angelo and friends called it a night, with ?uestlove proudly telling the crowd: "You were here! You saw it!" But D'Angelo will return to the U.S. concert scene next month for New Orleans' Essence Music Festival, and supposedly he'll be releasing that postponed third album before the year's end. Judging from the reaction that his comeback received at Bonnaroo, there are a lot of people who are waiting to buy that album and are happy to see him finally return.

 

[Blaq]

I hope he makes it back, but people are acting like there's no good shit out there at all. We have Mint Condition, Anthony David, Eric Robeson, Anthony Hamilton, The Rebirth, the Foreign Exchange clique, and others. Instead of waiting for D'Angelo to "save" and give R&B a "rebirth", how about supporting the good R&B that exists now? Shit, cats will run out to support Robin Thicke before they'd go to a Mint Condition show.

I never liked Mint Condition. I don't like the way they fucked that Isley Brothers' cut up. I definitely don't like Robin Thicke. Anthony Hamilton is cool, but never really heard anything by those other kats. I don't really listen to new music, tho.

 

[smooveface]

Ain't nuthin' in R&B close to this. D is in a world by himself. C'mon son, who else you know can come off like this:
And BTW, he also played guitar on this joint too....

 

[RunawaySlave]

I never liked Mint Condition. I don't like the way they fucked that Isley Brothers' cut up. I definitely don't like Robin Thicke. Anthony Hamilton is cool, but never really heard anything by those other kats. I don't really listen to new music, tho.

Same here most of that shit is second class or lower. Only thing that will revive R&B is to get back to it's essence and stop worrying about gimmicks and record sales.
And most of all stop letting these white people dictate what and how we play (if we play at all). We need some cats to just play. Just ball out on every instrument
the way the Funk Brothers did or Earth Wind & Fire type bands from that era...

 

[Blaq]

Same here most of that shit is second class or lower. Only thing that will revive R&B is to get back to it's essence and stop worrying about gimmicks and record sales.
And most of all stop letting these white people dictate what and how we play (if we play at all). We need some cats to just play. Just ball out on every instrument
the way the Funk Brothers did or Earth Wind & Fire type bands from that era...

Same thing I was thinking about the bands. I used to walk up and down the alley as a youngin' and heard bands playing music in their garage that's better than the music that is on now. Like you said awhile back, there is way too much stuff from the 70's to get turned onto now to listen to the bs that's out today.

I did like D'angelo, tho. I peeped him at the Arie Crown when he was on tour for his second album and he put on a good show.

 

[RunawaySlave]

I did like D'angelo, tho. I peeped him at the Arie Crown when he was on tour for his second album and he put on a good show.

There's no doubt that he can play, but on the stuff I heard from him, his music was way too gimmicky.
Just play stop trying to be someone else, you can pay tribute to another group and still maintain your own sound




btw, I got this from either you or Zacki

 

[Blaq]

There's no doubt that he can play, but on the stuff I heard from him, his music was way too gimmicky.
Just play stop trying to be someone else, you can pay tribute to another group and still maintain your own sound



btw, I got this from either you or Zacki

I hear you. I hope his new material is good. Would like to see him get back on track.

Zacki posted that. I got it from him as well. Speaking of which, i'm currently downloading that Rene & Angela S/T & "Wall to Wall" as I type that he sent this morning. If it wasn't posted at Who's let me know on email when you reply. Peace.