Sound Spelling #14: Voodoo
About 14 or 15 years ago, when I was in junior high school, I was obsessed with hip-hop and R&B, and there was a period where I listened to it day and night. One day, while digging on the internet as usual, I saw the word "VOODOO" in an old font next to an album jacket featuring a look like Kinnikuman.
No doubt about it. I was convinced this was a masterpiece and started listening to it immediately, but...
Huh?
I stopped listening halfway through the first track, Playa Playa.
Well, I was confused by the voice, which didn't match what I imagined from the album jacket. The look suggested someone with a thick, bass-heavy voice, but the voice quality was incredibly thin, the singing style was somewhere between singing and humming, and above all, the sense of rhythm was elusive.
There was no doubt it was in the R&B/Soul genre, but it was completely different from the albums and artists I had listened to until then.
However, I want to say loudly now that you cannot talk about the genre without mentioning his name and this album.
It took me a long time to understand this album (I think it's the longest ever. It probably took me 6 or 7 years. It took about that long to understand the greatness of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's... album).
I would like to introduce D'Angelo's Voodoo.
Now, about this album of his, it is by no means listener-friendly (in terms of ease of listening).
Starting with the fact that each song is about 6 minutes long (some are even longer), the lyrics have no clear structure, as if he gave up on trends entirely. On top of that, the rhythm is quite laid-back.
If you listen to it expecting something like a 90s Maxwell album, which represents smooth neo-soul, you will find it completely different from your expectations and feel disappointed. Despite calling itself neo-soul, you are invited into a completely different, deep world.
The album credits consist of many artists, but Questlove from The Roots is on drums, and James Poyser is on keyboards. The horn section features the master Roy Hargrove, and Pino Palladino, who is active as a main member of the RH Factor and a great supporting player in the John Mayer Trio, is on bass. The guitar features an incredible side-by-side setup (F1???) of Spanky Alford and Mike Campbell. Everyone is a master in their respective fields.
He said that after the release of his previous work, Brown Sugar, he spent 5 years recording with the artists and studio producers mentioned above (or rather, they would hole up and jam whenever they had free time, analyze those session recordings, and when a song was decided for the album take, they would pay attention to every single sound). Also, in recording, he valued the raw feel of the sound, and you can feel his stance of cherishing analog—such as using instruments and amps from the era of one-cut recording—in every track and instrumental phrase of this album.
Honestly, it's not at the level of saying which song is good,
I want you to listen to the album from start to finish, focusing on the sound, with your favorite food and drink on the table, as if you were watching a movie.
The total length of this album is 79 minutes, which means it is the maximum length that can be recorded on a CD. Without pressing skip even once, press the ▶ button on your player and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the studio, the feeling of everyone checking with each other, and the sense of them carefully piecing together every single sound as if they were having a serious, slow conversation.
I think the structure is probably ☆track 1 Playa Playa to track 6 Chicken Grease, and
◇track 8 Spanish Joint to track 10 Feel like makin' love, with the climax being 〇track 12 Untitled (How Does It Feel), and the gaps in between are rest periods like geeks, intros, or outros created during the making of the album.
Personally, I really love the technique in the ◇ section, especially the brutal rhythm arrangements scattered casually. The reason I chose this section is that I feel various genres are condensed into these songs. It's amazing that there are no filler tracks.
At the time of the album's release, it received respect from many artists, and three weeks after its release, it achieved a glorious title by reaching the top of the US charts, earning a platinum disc (Hall of Fame), and winning two Billboard awards, and it still maintains a presence that never fades.
No matter how much I explain, it won't be enough. Perhaps because I wrote and deleted so many times while introducing this album, I can't deny that it has become a review that excludes a lot of subjectivity, but it is too daunting to even mention...
Also, I don't think many people will get hooked on the first listen.
Since it took me a long time to understand it until today, it is an album that will likely divide opinions.
I strongly recommend you listen to it at least once, if only to judge for yourself.
p.s.
Please don't be fooled by the album visuals...
That thin voice is D'Angelo...
Don't hit the back button...
Seeing is believing, but hearing is better. 052025