Five Albums That Changed My Life

A couple of my friends did this on Facebook, so I’m gonna put a twist and explain why they changed my life, and put them in chronologically, in terms of when they changed my life. Of course, I’m not claiming that these are my favorite albums, only that because of where I was in my life when I discovered (or re-discovered, in one case) them, they each had a profound effect on me.

1. Bad by Michael Jackson 1987 Michael Jackson was my first hero, and this was the first album that came out where I was old enough to be aware of its impact, and know all the lyrics (and dance moves).

2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill 1998 This album was one of the earliest albums that I bought, mostly because I never had money before this time, and my parents wouldn’t let me get the music I wanted to get. This album was, and still is, in my opinion, genius. Lyrically and vocally, Lauryn Hill’s absence from anything more than intermittent recording still leaves a hole, such that at every rumor of her reemergence, I get excitedly hopeful.

3. Music of My Mind by Stevie Wonder 1976 Stevie Wonder broke the ice for so much great R&B music in the 1970′s. So much of his work sounds as fresh today as it did back then, and he continues to be a great influence in music. When I was in college, after hearing some of my parents’ old Stevie Wonder tracks, I became interested in hearing more of his stuff. This was the first album of his that I bought, and the beginning of his classic period.

4. Black on Both Sides by Mos Def 1999 This album was the first album that made me interested in hip-hop lyrics. If you’ve not heard it, Mos’ blend of witty lyricism, confident but extremely humanistic delivery, and populist message over diverse musical textures is an instant classic.

5. Electric Circus by Common 2002 I bought this album as soon as it came out, off the strength of Like Water For Chocolate and the recommendation of a good friend. While I liked the album back then, I didn’t appreciate all the musical genius that the album is until several years later. The album is chock full of amazingly creative musical styling from all the various Soulquarians that made neo-soul so great in its short popularity. Where Black on Both Sides may be my favorite album, lyrically, this album inspires me, musically. Note: This is possibly Common’s least-popular album of all time, but I think it’s really, really, really musically genius.

Anyone else wanna play? What were the five albums that changed your life and why?

From Common Sense to Common

The Spin: Common – Universal Mind Control
Released December 9, 2008
2008 Geffen Records
[rate 3.5]

Universal Mind Control sounds exactly like what it is: Common and The Neptunes make a dance album.  Common has established himself as one of the premiere socially conscious hip-hop artists of all time.  Times change.

Common’s breakout hit was “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” a metaphor for hip-hop.  The song put Common Sense’s names on the mind of all the die-hard hip-hop fans of 1994.  He was quickly recognized as an important socially conscious voice in hip-hop, even if he sometimes embraced a conservative morality that passed judgment on those unlike him.  In 2000, Common earned his first Grammy nomination and came into the American hip-hop mainstream consciousness with his song “The Light” from his classic album Like Water For Chocolate.  This was a turning point for Common twofold.  First, it was the first album to prominently feature J Dilla. Second, and perhaps more importantly in respect to Common’s career, it was his first hit love song.  While the lyricism definitely had changed somewhat from “Can I Borrow a Dollar” until then, Common definitely made a conscious decision that we see the effect of today, but amplified at this point.  Every album seems to have exponentially more songs about love, or at least the physical act, at the expense of the socially conscious hip-hop rhymes his most die-hard fans had grown accustomed to.  Forward to this album and Common goes from being the humble man about the people to an ego-maniacal materialistic boy who flaunts disrespecting women. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no “Big Pimpin’” here, but still…

So, the Universal Mind Control’s title track and current hit is an electro track, heavily influenced by Afrika Bambaataa’s “Planet Rock,” among others.  In a seemingly unlikely case of plagiarism, the hook features Pharrell intermittently mimicking Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba.”  Lyrically, the song is hit and miss with lines like, “I touch the masses like a catholic,” accompanied by the type of materialism that one would’ve assumed ten years ago that he would’ve condemned, a la “actor tappin’ yo favorite actress, Gucci rockin’, coochies poppin’, movie watchin’, booties droppin’, body movin’, showin’, groovin’, stylin’, and bein’ fly.”

“Punch Drunk Love” features Kanye West on the hook while the album doesn’t feature any ‘Ye beats.  The song is a fairly witty, playful song mostly about sex. The Dungeon Family feature prominently on “Make My Day” as Cee-lo croons impressively on the hook while the beat is produced by Mr. DJ of Outkast fame.  Again, Common does what he does, only romantically.  “Sugar 4 Sex” unexpectedly makes no explicit reference to prostitution, only Common’s sexual craving of some girl.  Musically, the song is an interesting blend of drums and horn synth.  Oddly, Common’s vocals sound like he’s imitating Pharrell here.

“Announcement” sounds musically like an update to Philly’s Most Wanted’s “Cross the Border.”  If you don’t remember the song, go listen to it.  They sound incredibly similar.  Actually, the guitar melody and hand drum parts are nearly the same.  Lyrically, the song features Common and Pharrell talking about the particular echelon they’ve each reached in hip-hop.

The switching back and forth between the drumless hook, which features a vocal and piano sample (I tried and tried, but couldn’t figure out what it is was from) and the drum-heavy verses featuring synth and trumpet, doesn’t seeem to work too well on, “Gladiator.”  The lyrics aren’t awful, but who else is getting tired of references to the fairly recent Russell Crowe movie, and the quotes that come with it?

In “Changes,” we see one of Common’s only attempts at social consciousness on the album.  However, it falls flat with a lack of lyricism and bigoted sentiments like, “See a black man run and we need him to win.”  “Inhale” features a sampled Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest’s “Sucka Nigga.”  The beat’s drums are interesting, but the beat is a little too cluttered to allow those drums to really captivate their audience.  Lyrically, Common’s effort here is mediocre but the content is definitely the sort of fare that his audience appreciates.  The Neptunes emulate N.E.R.D. on “What a World.”  It’s Common’s autobiography.  Did Mr. DJ influence Andre 3000 on “Hey Ya” or was it the other way around?  It’s hard to say for certain, but what is certain is the effect of that on the last track of this album, “Everywhere.”  The beat combined with Martina Topley-Bird’s vocals combine interestingly.  Common’s okay, too.

The Neptunes, while extremely talented and hardworking, seem to be pushing a sound on hip-hop that hip-hop doesn’t seem to want to receive.  It could perhaps be argued that they’re so far ahead of their time that other producers can’t replicate their sound but in reality, the sounds and methods that they use to create their beats are available to any producer with fruity loops and the internet.  That being said, they do create lots of hits, even if they’ve somehow managed to squeeze so much out of something that no one seems to really want that badly.

There have been comparisons between Universal Mind Control and Electric Circus as these are the only two well-known Common albums to not feature music developed around soul samples and the like.  However, the two albums are quite different in tone and scope.  Electric Circus, as criticized as it might be, was an experimental album that brought together some of today’s most recognizable names and voices to create an incredibly interesting and fresh, albeit perhaps mostly inaccessible, sound.  Universal Mind Control brings a lot of sounds that we’re already familiar with to Common’s new found booty-conscious lyrics.

I don’t know what to think of this album except that it’s a disappointment.  That doesn’t necessarily make it bad, it just makes it less than what I expect from Common.  There’s a bid drop there.  Common’s supposed to be a nasty MC who speaks for the Common man.  Instead, he approaches this album as a lazy MC who’s mostly just looking out for himself, mostly his sexually aroused self.  Its relevance pales in comparison to past works, both content-wise and lyrically.  Basically, this is Common going from positive to negative.  It’s Common selling out.  I give the album three and a quarter stars.  It’s funny that his change of name from Common Sense to Common is now seeming to bear relevance.

The Anthony Hamilton Experience

The Spin: Anthony Hamilton – The Point of It All
Released December 12, 2008
2008 Arista Records LLC
[rate 4.5]

Why isn’t Anthony Hamilton a Soulquarian? …yet? I can’t believe I totally missed ?uestlove’s marriage to James Poyser.  No matter, there’s a new Anthony Hamilton album out with no appearance(s) by The Randy Watson Experience.  Why do thirty days of the year birth hip-hop and r&b artists who are so concerned with the soulful, the funky, and the experimental?  It’s slightly mind-boggling to think of what great influence J Dilla, D’Angelo, and ?uestlove had over the neo-soul movement.  Almost without fail, any album claiming some segment of the neo-soul pie featured at some point or another, one or more of these three fellows.  It’s just strange.  To that point, when Common gets away from the soulfulness, the entire hip-hop nation seems to want to eat his testicles for some reason.  (I think Electric Circus was way better than Universal Mind Control, if anyone wonders)

This is a blog, right?  Is my blathering inappropriate?  I hope Jasper thinks not.^{(thx for the plug – j)} But here goes: Anthony Hamilton’s The Point of It All is an album title that seems to contain extraneously capitalized words.  It is also a rather enjoyable album on many levels.  I must admit that with this recent run of albums that I had expected to be rather good, I was terribly fearful that this one would also fail to live up to my lofty expectations.  Hamilton has quietly produced some of the greatest r&b/soul tracks of the past five years.  Al Green is like an older, less-experimental version of Anthony Hamilton it seems.  Hamilton is a great artist that seems to get looked over by the mainstream, despite the fact that so many artists respect him enough to constantly collaborate with him.  Finally, someone delivers.

Ant-Ham seems like a pretty straightforward kind of chap.  He has no qualms about baring his most potentially embarrassing and deepest emotions.  He does so while refusing to subscribe to whatever preconceived notions we all have of what he should be or could be doing to make good music and sell boatloads of units.  Consider that he managed to make a pretty effective soulful track with David Banner (David Banner, David Banner, etc.), hand claps and all. (Has anyone else noticed that Mr. Banner’s last name is actually, “Crump?”  That’s the mispronunciation of “crunk” that they use on the west coast to describe a particular brand of hyphy dancing, no?)

Without wavering from the concept of the album (that being love- cliche, I know, but well executed, you’ll find), “The News” starts the album off by getting political.  The track tells the grim tale of the street that contrasts the unrealistic portrayal so often found in hip-hop.

“Cool” is the hit single being marketed at present, featuring David Banner of Mississippian hip-hop and green monster-man fame.  Last week there was a comment made about my assessment of Musiq Soulchild’s “MoneyRight.”  Conveniently, Ant-Ham’s current radio song positions itself opposite Musiq’s Soulchild’s “MoneyRight,” content-wise.  “We don’t have to worry ’bout no groceries, we can fill up on love alone/If we ain’t got enough for a movie, we can just sit at home/Have a little role play baby, whatever turns you on.”  It’s like adults in love, it’s sweet, mature, and more believable than Musiq’s portrayal.  After all, just like Musiq, the man’s in his thirties.  I guess not every girl needs a man to buy her things for them to be okay.  Amazing.

Hamilton’s “The Day We Met” incorporates a catchy four-bar piano loop with lyrics about the depth of his love for a girl, declaring he wants “a couple of babies, as many as we can afford.”

In “I Did It For Sho,” Anthony Hamilton casts off a past flame that still hangs around.  It’s a poppier departure from his grimy work of the past, but his voice is so soulful that it never gets too cheesy.  Lyrically, he manages to not sound trite, expressing what so many of us have felt, while making us want to giggle a little, here and there.

Any man who has ever had to reluctantly end a long-term relationship should certainly be able to relate with Anthony on “Hard To Breathe.”  He seems tortured, declaring, “If I never knew your name, I think it’d be quite alright.”  His ability to emote burns through the track.

Hamilton does his best Gospel throwback on “Soul Is On Fire.”  He’s a desperate man, needing all the help and love he can get.  The horn synths in the hook are a little cheesy, but that seems to happen on all his albums and it never stops his tracks from being great.  This is a great one.  Again, it’s his ability to convey his emotions through his voice and poignant lyrics that command your attention.

It’s back to poppier fare with the lilting, “Please Stay.”  Anthony Hamilton admits all the worst romantic sins and exposes himself, begging his lady to stay.  The background music delivers despite its departure from more substantive musical backing.

The title track of the album is the type of funky, minimalist quiet storm track that even greats like Teddy Pendergrass, EWF, the Isley Brothers, et al. would envy.  Even in some of his less-impressive lyrical moments, he manages to evoke so much.

“Fallin’ In Love” and “Prayin’ For You/Superman” seem to take you from an old Stacks recording to just outside the studios, in some hole-in-the-wall club in the deep south.  On the “Superman” half of the latter track, Anthony Hamilton is emboldened, determined to take the girl he perceives as being the one that everyone wants.  He apparently needs, only to “give her some” when she calls him “Superman.”  His vocals deftly go from a powerful baritone to strong, effective falsetto.

The last two tracks, “Fine Again” and “She’s Gone,” find Hamilton experimenting musically. They’re interesting tracks, but lack some of the gravitas as many of the earlier tracks on the album.

My only two negative criticisms would be that the hi-hats, tambourines, etc. sometimes tend toward straight eighth-notes repeating the same velocity, and at times, the synthesized horns sound cheesy.  However, not all these songs are classics either.  That seems to be the problem with Mr. Hamilton, as great as he is, he has a couple songs that are really great in some respects, but lack the overall flawlessness to really grab the attention of a more massive audience. (Incidentally, if you’re reading this, Mr. Hamilton, I sell beats: Shaunzito on Myspace) ;P

There seems to be a good deal of similarity between Anthony Hamilton and Al Green.  Perhaps this is why Hamilton’s done a fair amount of work with and for Mr. Green.  They both grew up singing in church, and allude to their spirituality at times to make their lyrics more folksy. Neither has a voice that one would consider to be the prettiest in the world, but each utilizes his so well, it’s hard to deny the effectiveness.  I would certainly argue that Hamilton addresses more real-life societal issues, and often paints a more despairing portrait of conditions.  Also, Hamilton tends to experiment more with sounds.  I would have to say that I appreciate both of those differences.  That being the case, if Hamilton continues to build his body of work in similar fashion, it may be safe to say that I’ll prefer his work to Al Green’s.  And I love Al Green’s stuff.  I’m just waiting on Hamilton to break out. …So can we get an album with all ?uest and Anthony Hamilton?  Please?

This album covers a wide range of genres, though it barely, if ever, strays far from the south.  I found it thoroughly enjoyable.  I give this album four and a half out of five stars, solely on account of the fact that there isn’t really any track that begs you to listen to it over and over and over.  Otherwise, it’s a really impressive offering.