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So I went and saw Ben Folds last night for the third time. His third solo album, Way To Normal, comes out on Tuesday so he has been touring in support of it. It was the last show of this year's WBRU's Dunkin Donuts Concert Series, at the Bank of America City Center (the ice rink).
Ben Folds is always really fun to see live. He talks and jokes a lot between songs and has great crowd interaction, even giving the audience parts to sing in a few songs. I knew he would play a ton of new songs, since the album comes out so soon, but what I was not expecting was the entire set to be new songs. Him and his band spent a day in the studio a month or two ago and created an entire fake album, with different takes on the same track names, and leaked it online to screw with people. So during their hour-long set, they played almost the entire new album, as well as several tracks off of the fake album. The songs were good, some funny, and I was familiar with 2 of them from his MySpace page, but I really wish he would've mixed it up. I mean, when you have a cult following like he does, it takes balls to go out and play a whole set of only new material, so I commend him for it, but I also wanted to hear old favorites.
About 5 or 6 songs in, he explained that they would play the older stuff in the encore, which gave me hope of a really long encore full of classics. But the encore came, he played 4 old songs, only 3 of which I knew, and then finished the night with another new one. It was a great show and a lot of fun, because he always is, but I was kind of disappointed.
What it did do was make me really excited to get the new album on Tuesday, which was probably his goal... so it worked.
One of my favorite groups has always been The Roots, simply because they transcend genres. They are such a great hip-hop group, with Black Thought being, in my opinion, one of the best rappers out there, and at the same time they are a fun band to listen to, with a great horn section. The first time I saw them live ranks in my top 5 concerts that I've been to. So over the last two days, I listened through their entire discography, a lot of which I had never heard before, and wrote more mini-reviews on each album.
The Roots - Organix (1993) 7.5/10
The little-known, often forgotten, indie label debut from The Roots. I really didnt know what to expect going in, since I know the Roots have changed as a group so much since the beginning. It was a good album, though; especially for a debut. Its soulful and jazzy, not to mention I'm a sucker for "real" instrumentation on hip hop tracks (as opposed to computer-produced beats). Lyrically, Black Thought isn't quite as good as he is now, but still sounds great and is still better than most people out there. Even ?uestlove raps on a couple of tracks, which I wasn't expecting at all. My only problem was the it seems to drag a little and becomes kind of repetitive. Nothing really pops out at you and it just kind of keeps the same tone throughout instead of mixing it up.
The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995) 8/10
This was a little better than "Organix". They obviously had better production because they were signed to a major label and it shows. Everything sounds cleaner and more fine-tuned. Black Thought is evolving as an artist and songwriter. It just sounds like a more complete album. Also, Rahzel was a member of The Roots at the time, and he adds that extra pop that I mentioned "Organix" not having. Overall, a solid album, some good tracks, but nothing really memorable.
The Roots - Illadelph Halflife (1996) 8.5/10
This is the first album I recognized a song or two on. While many people regard it as one of the best, if not the best, albums from The Roots, I didn't really see it being too special. It's really just the first album by The Roots that we know today. Almost like the first two albums were warm-ups. It's got a much more commercial sound with R&B hooks and whatnot. Some tracks, this works really well on, but on a lot of them it just makes them seem fake. It doesnt have the chill jam-band feeling of the previous 2 albums. So while its overall a much better album with some great tracks and a great new direction, the fact that they lost the sound of being an "indie band", for the lack of a better term.
The Roots - Things Fall Apart (1999) 9.5/10
One of the best. Its like they took "Illadelph Halflife" and perfected it. They somehow find a happy medium between sounding commercial and sounding like a band. It goes back to being funky and cool and jazzy, but keeps the upbeat mainstream sound that makes it fun. There are several memorable tracks, obviously including "You Got Me" ft. Erykah Badu, which won a Grammy. Other great guest spots by Common and Mos Def help round out the album. Its just so good. My only complaint is that it runs long, at just over 70min, and I can see where cutting out a couple of tracks would've made the album perfect.
The Roots - Phrenology (2002) 9/10
My favorite Roots album. Its the perfect length, and is basically more of the all-around complete greatness that was captured on "Things Fall Apart". 2 Kweli features are both awesome. The flow and feeling of the album is a little more well-rounded and complete than "Things Fall Apart". I think the only thing I didn't like was that it wasnt really anything new. They didnt really grow between albums at all, and as much as they didn't have to because both of these albums are amazing, I like to see artists try new things. Great album though... I really love it.
The Roots - The Tipping Point (2004) 8/10
Underrated. I feel like nobody ever talks about this album, and its pretty good. With that said, its not nearly as good as "Things Fall Apart" or "Phrenology". It sounds a lot more mainstream, which in this case isn't really a good thing. It sounds like they tried to preserve that groovy Roots feel and it just didn't work out that well. It's also too short for me. The production sounds good for a mainstream rap album, but bad for a Roots album. The rapping is on point stylistically, but content-wise I wish it were stronger. Its a good album, and actually the first Roots album I ever heard in full, back when it came out 4 years ago.
The Roots - Game Theory (2006) 8/10
I forgot about this album. I really like it, even though its not "classic" material or anything. It's really serious and to the point, covering some deep/heavy topics. Its more tied together as an album, with a lot of seamless transitions between tracks, which I like. There's a handful of good songs, but also a bunch of songs I already forget about. As it is the Roots 7th album, I'm not really impressed. But if I heard this having never listened to them before, I'd probably be blown away. So I'll settle somewhere in the middle, like I did with "The Tipping Point."
The Roots - Rising Down (2008) 8/10
Another solid album. I hadn't listened to this is several months, but I really liked it. It's in my Top 10 of the year, though dangling on at number 10. In the same way that I saw "Phrenology" being basically "Things Fall Apart" Volume 2, I think Rising Down feels a lot like "Game Theory" Volume 2. It has the same serious tone and heavy subject matter, with the rhymes and production both tight and really enjoyable. My problem with the album is that there are too many features. Although almost everyone featured does really well on the album, I just hate it when people have features in almost every track. I need more Black Thought verses. I don't listen to the Roots because I wanna hear Dice Raw or P.o.r.n. So its a good album, but clearly not the Roots' best.
On a recommendation from a friend, a downloaded and listened to the new Kings of Leon album, Only by the Night. While I had heard of them, I had never listened to anything by the band before, but fell in love after one listen to this amazing album. I instantly had to listen to the first 3 albums from the band, and here are my mini-reviews of them all:
Kings of Leon - Youth and Young Manhood (2003) 7.5/10
Blah. I was hoping for this to be as epic as the new album. I guess I should've went in blindly. While there are several tracks where the arrangements and instrumentation is great and very enjoyable, the album as a whole felt really dull and boring to me. The vocals weren't anything special and I couldn't really understand him some of the time. But with that said, its a decent album with some good songs on it.
Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak (2005) 8.5/10
Way better than "Y&YM", in my opinion. The tracks are more diverse. Vocals are more aggressive and more clear. Same great instrumentation as before. It just sounds more creative and more of a well-rounded, full album. Its still missing something... it needs something extra to set it apart from the other albums of the genre, because it would be way to easy to lump this in with everything else and forget about it. But I really liked it, regardless.
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times (2007) 9/10
I got distracted while listening to this so I really need to go back and give it more proper attention. As of right now, I really really liked it. I would say it shows definite growth from "Aha Shake..." while maintaining the same basic things that makes the band who it is. It's not boring at all, tracks are diverse with great guitar riffs. The drummer sounds really great in this one, too. I really enjoy it, but need to listen again.
Kings of Leon - Only By The Night (2008) 10/10
Wow... Now I know I might seem like an easy grader, because I give a lot of 8s and 9s, but I swear its just because I like a lot of music. While I give a lot of 8-9 range scores, its really tough for me to give a 10. An album has to be perfect, and I generally go hunting for errors. The only other album, this year, I would give a 10 to is Coldplay. This album, though, totally took me by surprise. I had never listened to any Kings of Leon, and this is their fourth album. I don't really know how to describe it, but I love it. They mix in a southern feel to their hard indie-rock sound, and I love it. The guy's voice sounds great, the lyrics are great, and the instrumentation is awesome. I'm amazed that the 4 members are related (3 brothers and a cousin)... how could there be so much talent in one family?! They have some experimental-sounding tracks, but don't push it too far and confuse people. Its great. I cant wait to hear their older material.
It's been almost a month since I wrote anything down in here, mainly because I've been busy and really just haven't had anything worth writing down. But over the last 2 days I listened to and reviewed all 7 albums by one of my favorite rappers, Common. So let's get right into it:
Common - Can I Borrow A Dollar? (1992) 7.5/10
Common's debut album. It's so weird to hear him like this. Its kind of raw and gritty. Makes him sound like he's from the streets. His topics aren't as intellectual as they are these days, at all. He raps really quickly, with sort of a sing-songy style at times. The production is simple, at some times too simple, but overall it fits perfectly. Lyrically I love it, even if it is less "smart" than his most recent two albums. His pop culture references and perfect wordplay make it fun to listen to. It's a good record, and definitely an underrated debut album, but at the same time, there's nothing really special about it, which might be because I'm listening to it 16 years too late.
Common - Resurrection (1994) 9/10
The beginning of the Common everyone knows and loves today. The rapping is more relaxed and steady, the lyrics are much more intellectual, and the wordplay is just as clever as ever, making it a really fun listen. The production is almost all by No ID (as was Can I Borrow A Dollar?) but he steps it up and polishes everything nicely; it sounds really jazzy and I love that. I felt like it dragged just a little bit in the middle, though... that's my only problem. "I Used to Love H.E.R." is one of my favorite rap songs of all time, and it never gets old. Overall, it's a great album, and deserves all the critical acclaim it got.
Common - One Day It'll All Make Sense (1997) 8/10
Another solid album from Common. Not as great as Resurrection, but still really good. Its a little too long, and the rhymes and production arent quite as tight as they were on Resurrection, but overall its still a step in the right direction, as you can tell that Common is evolving as an artist. There's a few good features, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Q-Tip, Black Thought. The two stand-out songs, to me, were "Retrospective for Life" ft. Lauryn Hill, a really touching description of how Common feels about the impending birth of his first child, and "G.O.D. (Gaining One's Definition)" ft. Cee-Lo, which is just an awesome, intellectual, inspiring song.
Common - Like Water For Chocolate (2000) 9/10
This is my favorite Common album. To me, its a lot like Resurrection, but with better production. Dilla and ?uestlove do the majority, with additional help from dj premier. The lyrics are tight again, with just as much soul and meaning and social consciousness as ever. Even though the albums are no longer produced by No ID, they still have a soulful, jazzy feel, which I liked about them. "The Light" is one of my favorite hip hop songs ever, and there are so many other great tracks on here ("The 6th Sense", "A Song For Assata"). I do feel however, like with "Resurrection", that it drags just a little bit and needs something extra to make it pop out at you.
Common - Electric Circus (2002) 8.5/10
This album is underrated. In the same way that people are going to hate on "Universal Mind Control" for being different than what they are used to hearing, people hated on "Electric Circus". The only difference being that "Electric Circus" moves toward a less commercially accepted sound while "UMC" is doing the opposite. Its basically the same production team as before, ?uestlove and Dilla, with 2 tracks from The Neptunes. There are great features by Cee-Lo, Mary J Blige, Pharrell, and even P.O.D.'s Sonny Sandoval. It feels like such a cool, soulful, eclectic album. Common's not as intellectual, but still enough to not worry people. There are still amazing lyrical songs, including probably his most serious/deepest song ever, "Between Me, You, and Liberation", where he discusses sexual abuse, homophobia, and cancer. The last track, the epic "Heaven Somewhere", features 6 vocalists discussing their thoughts on heaven. The album such a different sound, and I admit that the first time I wasn't totally bought, but after my second listen, I really enjoy it.
Common - Be (2005) 9/10
What an album. While it seems short after just finishing "Electric Circus" (73min vs. 42min), I would rather have an album be a little too short than a little too long. Production is all Kanye except for 2 Dilla tracks, which is great. My only qualm besides the length is that its a little less instrumental than other albums, which had a great jazzy feel with horns and instruments, but I have been saying I want Kanye to go more in that direction for a while now. Lyrics and flow are on point, with some great conscious rhymes as well as some great storytelling. I literally get chills at the end of "Testify". I don't know what else to say. Every song could be a single and be successful, and every song is so well put together and well thought out with almost no fluff or filler. It's great.
Common - Finding Forever (2007) 8.5/10
This gets my award for Common's worst album cover, haha. My first instinct is to say that while its a great album, its nothing new, its like Be...continued. But I have to think about it as a separate entity in some right, so I will. Like I said, its a great album. More great Kanye production (though still not as jazzy as I want), with other production from will.i.am and Dilla. Where this album falls off compared to the others is that I think it's too poppy. While there are still some soulful tracks, it's not as universally soulful as Common's previous work. There is too much name-dropping and too many pop culture references. While the majority of the album is still intellectual and smart, the added fluff upsets me a little bit.
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Just a reminder that Common's 8th studio album is due to be released in November. It's titled "Universal Mind Control" and includes recently released singles "UMC (Universal Mind Control)" and "Announcement".
I think I am going to continue on with this big discography review thing, its kind of interesting. Starting Monday I'll get into the 8 albums from The Roots, then all 6 Atmosphere albums, all 9 from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and who knows where we'll go from there...
