Voodoo (2000) - D'Angelo

This year the shock news broke that Michael Eugene Archer, better known as D'Angelo, passed away at the tender age of 51 years old. As such, the world has lost one of the most brilliant artists of our time and one who left a trail of incredible music in his wake. So it is only appropriate that we pay homage by reviewing one of the greatest albums of the past 25 years, certainly the greatest soul album by some distance, the year 2000-released, meandering masterpiece that is 'Voodoo'.

To put this record in some context, in 1995 D'Angelo burst on the the music scene with his debut album 'Brown Sugar' - a jazzy, ultra smooth, throwback to the soul greats of the 60s and 70s, that album was chock-full of instant classics and D'Angelo became, perhaps unwittingly and very reluctantly, the godfather of what was termed at the time 'Neo Soul'. A dreadful title to bestow on anyone, I think we can all agree. 

Indeed this became a problem pretty quickly for D himself. Knowing that he was an artist that shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as someone like Chico DeBarge, D'Angelo hit the reset button on his career and rather than follow up Brown Sugar with more of the same, he went in an altogether different path and took a 5-year hiatus to create his next album. Pulling in the Soulquarians on production and camping out at Electric Lady studios, he went deep within his ancestral roots and produced this opus, which is a major departure from anything that came before it. Indeed, Questlove - who served as a sort of musical director on the project - had the following to say about it: 

"We knew this album would be a hard pill to swallow. People may want D to play into their R&B love-god fantasties - wearing Armani suits and singing something sweet in your ear - but he made a conscious effort to shake people up, to take a chance. It's not a middle ground record. You're either going to love it or hate it."

He's not wrong and that much is obvious even from the imagery of the record itself, which presents some striking visuals and conjures up the feeling of being deep in the jungle covered in pigs blood and summoning the spirits of the netherworld. Indeed this is accompanied by the album opening with tribal drumming and what sounds like a shaman speaking in tongues. Brown Sugar, this is not. This blends into the mid-tempo opener 'Playa Playa', a sweaty, deep, horn led number that has more in common with Sly and the Family Stone, or George Clinton, than Maxwell. It is thick with funk and slaps it's way along while D'Angelo croons things like "Later for you haters, we gon' turn this mother out". As a statement of intent, it doesn't get much better. Until, that is, it blends seamlessly into track 2 - 'Devil's Pie'. Produced by New York hip hop legend DJ Premier, the beat contains a boom bap worthy of KRS One and scratches of hip hop samples throughout the chorus. It is completely unlike anything you may have heard from a, quote, 'R&B' artist at that time and is all the better for it. A dark, menacing, number about the perils of being a black man in America, this song is a timeless classic and the perfect blend of hip hop and soul - to the point where you wonder why no one has pulled this off before or since. 

The hip hop feel continues with 'Left and Right' which features Method Man and Redman spitting some absolute filth over yet another funky beat. This was the lead single from the album and lightens the mood somewhat. It is a sexy, swinging, classic number that again brings the funk. We are officially off to a great start by this point. From here we get back to something like traditional D'Angelo. 'The Line' is a fascinating song that, despite it's slower pace, finds the man himself in confessional mode - talking about why he's been away from music so long and the conflicts you'll find within a musician's soul. It is powerful stuff. What follows that is 'Send It On' - about the only song that wouldn't sound out of place on 'Brown Sugar' and certainly a much more traditional, tender, and sweet soul song that you'll likely be hearing at weddings for years to come. 

By the middle of the album, you really start to get the sense you're in the midst of something special and the next stretch of songs are up there with the very best you're likely to hear in any genre. It begins with 'Chicken Grease' which is a groove that you never want to end. Christ only knows what he's singing about, but my god is it funky. Then we settle into 'One Mo'Gin', a hypnotizing piece about that ex that you've moved on from but you never really got over. Speaking of exes, the next song 'The Root' is obviously also about breaking up with someone but here it's not all misty-eyed for the days of yore, here it is clear that D has been broken up with against his wishes and is very much not over it. The vocal collaging on display here is truly magnificent and builds to a crescendo that hits sound like 18 versions of the same man having their soul ripped out. Whoever did this to this man, she really did work a root that will not be reversed. This is one of the most unique, richly rewarding and brilliant songs about getting your heart torn out you're ever likely to hear. It only gets better with time, too. After essentially bleeding out on record, the pace changes yet again for the sublime 'Spanish Joint' - a phenomenal song that, you guessed it, sounds like it was recorded on the shores of Havana. This stretch of music simply doesn't happen in most albums. It is powerful, funky, soulful and utterly sublime. Thus proving that the toil and bravery to completely depart from his previously successful sound was very much worth it. 

The album closes with a more traditional, but no less brilliant, set of songs. 'Feel Like Makin' Love' is a cover of Roberta Flack's 1974 classic and instantly evokes an effortless romantic summer.  'Greatdayinthemornin' is a classic soul song, worthy of someone like prime Stevie Wonder or Donny Hathaway and then we get the big one. The one that caused all manner of a stir with it's racy music video but should certainly not be discounted as simple man porn. '(Untitled) How Does It Feel' is one of the greatest songs ever made. Yes, he might be naked in the video, and yes there has been endless speculation about what is happening slightly off-screen in said video, but if you ignore all of that and just focus on the song, it is a soaring piece of slow-building brilliance. People just were not making music like this at this time. Not since the glory days of Prince has a song so openly about sex been so....well, sexy. And the end where D'Angelo almost roars into the microphone is almost the audio equivalent of an orgasm in and of itself. A brilliant, brilliant song. 

Where do you go from there? You go to Africa, of course. And 'Africa' the song is a truly magical way to finish the album, which finds our singer reflecting on his ancestral roots. It's one of those songs that leaves you wanting more and makes you somewhat sad that you know you won't hear any new music for a while. But that's the joy with a great album, you simply start it again. In fact this one does that for you. It literally rewinds all the way back through what you've just heard to the beginning, suggesting you do the same. 

All in all, it is plainly obvious that a lot of time effort and energy went into the making of this album. Each song, as with all classic albums, blends seamlessly, perfectly, with the next and you're left with a suite of music that is deeply satisfying. The middle section soars highest in terms of the experimentation hitting all the right notes, but the entire album, top to bottom, is full of some of the best soul songs you'll hear this side of 1978. It stands up there with the greats like 'Innervisions' or 'What's Going On'. It's simply that good. Also the balls on the man to completely reject everything that made him successful in the first place speaks volumes about the quality of D'Angelo as an artist. The world lost one of the most under-appreciated artists ever to grace the music scene. Part of this is down to the sparsity of his output (3 albums in 20 years), but most of it is the simple fact that there's not much of a market for soul music in this day and age, which is a terrible shame because this is up with there with the very best of them. 

Rest in peace D'Angelo. The world is little less bright without him, but such is the density and brilliance of this album, people will be still getting something new from it for many, many, years to come. Timeless.

★★★★★

JB.