Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It [2008]

[arXter]

the whole album's leaked and the tracks are seriously good. definitely a highlight from the rest of the releases so far this year.

Never Give You Up (ft. Stevie Wonder)








Sure Hope You Mean It








Sometimes








Just One Kiss (feat. Joss Stone)









that Joss Stone duet should have been a Winehouse one, though. great track nonetheless.

album coming on 16 Sep.

 

[Superstition]

Oh man, can't wait to hear that first track

I'm gonna wait until I get to work to listen to it. I'll definitely be buying this one, the tracks sound phenomenal. As I've mentioned, I know he does a little work with John Legend and I hope he does a track or two with him on Legend's "Evolver".

I download a lot of tracks from Amazon and iTunes, the one will warrant a trip for the actual disc.

 

[Chihiro2]

All tracks sound incredibly fresh and have that quality as raphael’s older stuff.
As of now my favourite is this:

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=968Tbbp4LW0

He’s probably the most underrated artist I know, at least here where I live I can only dream of getting his cd..

 

[Foxy..]

Fantastic new material, with a wonderful soulful feel, managing to prolong the summery feel well into the wintery months! A definite purchase for me Thanks Arx!

 

[michaelsson]

i love him! cant wat im excited now

 

[raisa]

never heard of him before but I can dig this

 

[giddyup87]

yeah, definetely will be checking this out, loved his 1st album.


after a quick listen... this album is HOT!

'Sometimes' is a classic.

 

[mistermaxxx]

i respect him as a Producer and loved him tony,toni,tone but not as a solo artist. this sounds too trendy and sounds like what is being pushed around now. vocally i can take or leave him. if i wanted to hear eddie kendricks or david ruffin then i'd put them on.

 

[arXter]

Multiple Visions of Soul Music’s Past and Future

By NATE CHENIN
Published: August 29, 2008


An R&B fanatic with a glitch-prone time machine would have felt right at home in the Highline Ballroom on Wednesday night. For the rest of the crowd it was a game of capricious adjustment as Raphael Saadiq, a retro-soul specialist, and Janelle Monáe, a cyber-soul fabulist, offered multiple visions of the music’s past and future. Both artists were openly obsessive in their pursuits, and both managed to bring the room with them.



The retro-soul specialist Raphael Saddiq performing on Wednesday at the Highline Ballroom.

Mr. Saadiq has a history of nostalgic revisionism, as a member of Tony! Toni! Toné! from the late 1980s through the mid-’90s, and more recently as a songwriter and producer. His fetching solo debut, in 2002, bore the title “Instant Vintage,” which sums up his golden ideal. But his new album — “The Way I See It,” due out on Columbia next month — pushes the retro angle more insistently. And Mr. Saadiq brought the same qualities to his show, an ostentatious throwback carried by hard-working charisma.

He took the stage to a vamp from “100 Yard Dash,” one of the new album’s best tracks. His band, nine pieces counting the horns, conjured a classic Motown vibe; his attire, a cream-colored suit with a skinny black tie, served the same purpose. And on the next tune, a shuffle called “Love That Girl,” Mr. Saadiq and his backup singers engaged in a routine of snaps and half-spins, echoing the Temptations in swerve as well as style.

Mr. Saadiq is unabashed about such pilfery, in the way that peacocks are unabashed about plumage. He offered a few other songs with a Temptations sound — “Just One Kiss” had the backup singer Erika Jerry ably filling in for Joss Stone, who sings it on the new album — and just as earnestly evoked Stevie Wonder and the Jackson Five. When he left to change into a black suit, the band played the woozy riff from “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” a late-period Beatles tune.

As a diligent entertainer, Mr. Saadiq dipped into more recent history, with a brisk medley of Tony! Toni! Toné! hits. (He seemed to treat this as an obligation.) Playing a few songs from “Instant Vintage,” he was looser: “Charlie Ray” took on a Funkadelic bounce, and “Be Here” sprawled into a psychedelic jam.

What was missing there, and throughout the show, was Mr. Saadiq’s wickedly sharp electric bass playing. When he picked up the instrument for an encore, “Skyy, Can You Feel Me,” it was a reminder of strengths that had gone buried all night. ​

function getSharePasskey() { return 'ex=1377835200&en=137fcbd099dde411&ei=5124';} function getShareURL() { return encodeURIComponent('http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/arts/music/30sadd.html'); } function getShareHeadline() { return encodeURIComponent('Multiple Visions of Soul Music’s Past and Future'); } function getShareDescription() { return encodeURIComponent('Raphael Saadiq, a retro-soul specialist, and Janelle Monáe, a cyber-soul fabulist, offered multiple visions of the music’s past and future at the Highline Ballroom on Wednesday.'); } function getShareKeywords() { return encodeURIComponent('Music,Soul Music,Raphael Saadiq,Janelle Monáe'); } function getShareSection() { return encodeURIComponent('arts'); } function getShareSectionDisplay() { return encodeURIComponent('Music Review | Raphael Saadiq and Janelle Monáe'); } function getShareSubSection() { return encodeURIComponent('music'); } function getShareByline() { return encodeURIComponent('By NATE CHENIN'); } function getSharePubdate() { return encodeURIComponent('August 30, 2008'); }