This album was not only an amazing piece of art but also helped me get navigate a few speed bumps in my life last fall. Dude spits some real knowledge on love and heartbreak and lessons to be learned. Professor Saadiq dropped some gems and now I am a better man for it. The fact is, this album has got to be up in the hundred playcount area by now and has not worn on me at all. On that note...I'll go ahead and post my review of 'The Way I See It' I wrote for Seattle Subsonic last September. Here goes...
Raphael Saadiq has been putting out great music for a loooong time. He started out as a lead vocalist in the new jack swing group Tony! Toni! Tone! in the early 90s. Then he formed the (super?) group Lucy Pearl with Dawn Robinson of En Vouge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest. He is also a sought after producer, having produced cuts with D’Angelo (the Grammy-winning “How does it feel?”), Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, The Roots, Macy Gray, Snoop Dogg, Devin the Dude, Kelis, Q-Tip, and just exectuive produced Joss Stone’s entire 3rd album. Then there are his solo albums that are a must have in any soul/r&b heads collection. Yeah he’s been doing things for a minute.
His newest album does not disappoint. The Way I See It is one of the best recreations of the “Motown Sound” I’ve ever heard. The tracks sound straight off a 1960’s vinyl pressing. The production is top notch, the vocals are well sung and every song captures the essence of soul music how it was meant to be heard. It isn’t too polished or clean. Hell, it doesn’t even sound like a product of the digital age…and that is the highest compliment I can give. It sounds like all analog equipment was used in the production process and that adds a realness and grittyness that is absent in nearly all new soul music, except maybe for Mark Ronson and the Dap tones. The resurgence of that classic/analog/soulful sound is the best thing to happen to music in the last decade, in my humble oppinion, and Saadiq’s latest offering is at the head of the pack.The album is full of gems but my favorite track would have to be “100 Yard Dash.” The riff is just so nasty and the tempo is perfect. I can’t help but get in the groove and hum along when the guitar kicks in during the intro. The rest are all crowd pleasers that will feel right at home in the stereo of a peer, a family member, a parent, a child, or a coworker…practically everyone can enjoy this album. It doesn’t discriminate and is very listener friendly.
You can go and listen to The Way I See It in it’s entirity on Saadiq’s myspace page. Then I recommend going out and buying a copy.
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