Raphael Saadiq | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Throwback R&B; singer Raphael Saadiq was born in Oakland, CA, in 1966, and started playing music six years later. He played bass at church and school and enjoyed his place on-stage at various local hometown events. After high school, Saadiq won a chance to join Prince and Sheila E. on the Parade tour. Such an experience inspired Saadiq to make music his life, and before the 80s came to an end, he formed Tony! Toni! Tone!. Saadiq went under his birth name of Wiggins while in Tony! Toni! Tone!, and was joined by his brother, Dwayne Wiggins, and cousin Timothy Christian. Tony! Toni! Tone! made their debut with "Little Walter" in 1988. Two years later, they were mega-stars thanks to the success of their second album, The Revival. The ballad "It Never Rains (In Southern California)" and the club-friendly "Feels Good" were major hits and the band eventually sold six million albums. However, Saadiq left the group at the height of its fame. A solo career was in the works by the time the mid-90s rolled around. Two singles for movie soundtracks -- 1995s "Ask of You" from Higher Learning and "Me & You" from Boyz N da Hood -- were Saadiqs proper solo introduction, but not exactly satisfying. He was used to being part of a band, so a solo career made him a bit apprehensive. Saadiq bowed out for some normalcy over the next few years. Lucy Pearl was Saadiqs next project, where he joined with En Vogues Dawn Robinson and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of A Tribe Called Quest for a short-lived super-group. Saadiq also had his hand in producing material for the likes of Macy Gray, TLC, the Roots, and DAngelo. In 2000, his song "Untitled" won DAngelo a Grammy. Inspired by his new "gospedelic" approach, he captured a new sound for himself while recording material between Oakland and Sacramento. The end result was Instant Vintage, which earned five Grammy nominations in 2003. The blaxploitation era-referencing Ray Ray and the 60s-flavored The Way I See It followed, respectively, in 2004 and 2008; the latter was nominated for three Grammys. Stone Rollin was released in 2011, just after Saadiq and his band of the same name backed Mick Jagger for a Grammy Awards perfomance of Solomon Burkes "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love." The album maintained Saadiqs streak of throwback-oriented releases. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 6 Title: Instant Vintage Released: 2002-06-11 Tracks: 20 Duration: 1:19:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Doing What I Can (04:19) 2 Body Parts (03:49) 3 Be Here (03:48) 4 Still Ray (03:03) 5 OPH (02:34) 6 Youre the One That I Like (03:13) 7 Excuse Me (03:24) 8 Charlie Ray (02:42) 9 Different Times (05:01) 10 Tick Tock (04:28) 11 People (04:26) 12 Tek #1 (00:31) 13 Faithful (04:05) 14 Make My Day (01:39) 15 Blind Man (04:36) 16 Tek #2 (02:10) 17 Uptown (05:06) 18 Whats Life Like (02:49) 19 Skyy, Can You Feel Me (14:33) 20 What? (03:30) |
| Instant Vintage : Allmusic album Review : After more than 20 years in the music business, Tony! Toni! Toné! founder Raphael Saadiq has gotten around to offering his solo debut, Instant Vintage. The apropos title reflects the old-school style that Saadiq has adopted for the album. However, he dubs the type of music -- a mix of samples, soul, gospel, and R&B; -- "gospedelic." Saadiq has called upon some of neo-souls most popular artists to help out on Instant Vintage. Angie Stone makes an appearance on the opening dancefloor-worthy track, "Doing What I Can," which briefly tells the story of Saadiqs career. DAngelo lends a hand on the funkified "Be Here." Traces of 3T seep into Instant Vintage. Lush orchestration, hook-laden, danceable melodies, and gospel influences are evident throughout the recording. This album should be renamed "Instant Classic." | ||
 | Album: 2 of 6 Title: All Hits at the House of Blues Released: 2003-10-14 Tracks: 23 Duration: 1:42:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Body Parts (03:27) 2 Charlie Ray (04:55) 3 Excuse Me (04:57) 4 Faithful (03:37) 5 Ask of You (05:53) 6 Just Me and You (01:49) 7 Just a Man (03:49) 8 Copy Cat (02:35) 9 Missing You (06:25) 10 Still a Man (05:16) 11 Lay Your Head on My Pillow (02:35) 12 Whatever You Want (01:38) 13 It Never Rains (02:00) 14 Anniversary (02:23) 15 Lets Get Down (04:04) 16 Loving You (01:52) 1 Still Ray (06:57) 2 Blind Man (07:04) 3 Different Times (06:58) 4 Uptown (09:53) 5 You (02:29) 6 Get Involved (04:24) 7 Be Here (07:38) |
| All Hits at the House of Blues : Allmusic album Review : No one can fault punters for being suspicious of hip-hop and nu soul live records; theyve been ripped off too many times by technology -- leaving records sounding worse than carefully edited 70s rock albums. Singer/songwriter/producer Raphael Saadiq, formerly of Tony! Toni! Toné!, set some new standards in 2002 with his solo debut, Instant Vintage, in both songwriting and production standards, and this live date ups the ante as well. Over two CDs, Saadiq, a basic funk band with DJs, and some truly special guests tear up the House of Blues with a mix of old, new, tried, and true funky, punky nu soul jams. Offering a view of his entire 20-year career in the music biz, Saadiq kicks it solo (check the shivers he sends down your spine with "Ask of You") and with his old partners in Tony! Toni! Toné! for a seven-song mini-set. This isnt merely nostalgia, but displays the evolutionary process from the possibilities suggested by new jack swing as they evolved in Saadiqs musical iconography into his beautifully articulated brand of 21st century soul. Devin the Dude guests on "Just a Man" and Joi on "Copy Cat" and "Missing You," DJ Quick slips in for "Lets Get Down" (and Tony! Toni! Toné! is an added treat), Ledisi and Goapele are featured on "Different Times," and on the encore DAngelo brings his tough, trouble man street soul to "Be Here." The happening thing about the guest performances is they actually add significantly to the show aspect of this as it plays on your CD player. This set grooves from start to finish with the honest, sensual, slippery funk that is nu souls hope for the future. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 6 Title: Ray Ray Released: 2004-09-27 Tracks: 15 Duration: 53:52 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Blaxploitation (00:31) 2 Ray Ray Theme (02:36) 3 I Know Shuggie Otis (02:32) 4 This One (03:34) 5 Chic Like You (04:01) 6 Live Without You (04:49) 7 Detroit Girl (04:05) 8 Not a Game (02:58) 9 Rifle Love (04:18) 10 Chic (03:40) 11 I Want You Back (03:48) 12 I Love Her (04:33) 13 Grown Folks (04:21) 14 Save Us (03:12) 15 Scream (04:46) |
| Ray Ray : Allmusic album Review : Ray Ray looks more like a concept album -- about a Blaxploitation hero -- than it sounds like one. Its another ambitious release from Raphael Saadiq, who has continued to be very active as a musician, producer, and songwriter for other artists. Though he has given plenty of his ideas to like-minded artists like Jill Scott, Kelis, Truth Hurts, Mos Def, Amp Fiddler, and Teedra Moses (who guests on two songs here), his creative well seems to be pretty much bottomless. Ray Ray occasionally loses focus, slipping into moments that are either undercooked or worthy of the cutting room, but its enjoyable enough to keep his followers happy and will certainly act as a remedy for those who dont like the gold-bricked path being taken by mainstream R&B. The album is a little funkier and a lot more energetic than 2002s Instant Vintage, yet just as full of Saadiqs stylish flourishes. The subject matter is as varied as youd expect: for every song thats charmingly simple and full of lighthearted romantic sentiments, theres something message-oriented, such as "Grown Folks" (in which Saadiq tries on Curtis Mayfields falsetto and songwriting style, proclaiming that the adults "need more help than the children do"). | ||
 | Album: 4 of 6 Title: The Way I See It Released: 2008-09-16 Tracks: 13 Duration: 42:13 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Sure Hope You Mean It (03:40) 2 100 Yard Dash (02:18) 3 Keep Marchin (02:37) 4 Big Easy (03:18) 5 Just One Kiss (02:32) 6 Love That Girl (03:04) 7 Calling (03:44) 8 Staying in Love (02:53) 9 Oh Girl (03:34) 10 Lets Take a Walk (02:28) 11 Never Give You Up (04:12) 12 Sometimes (04:06) 13 Oh Girl (remix) (03:41) |
| The Way I See It : Allmusic album Review : When Raphael Saadiq, along with his partners in Tony! Toni! Toné!, wrote and recorded songs like "It Never Rains in Southern California" and "Whatever You Want," he earned himself a lifetime "Do Whatever You Want" card. One could disregard his third solo studio album for being the equivalent of a Civil War reenactment, sounding much more like "instant vintage" R&B; than 2002s Instant Vintage. If you want to listen to some 60s and early-70s soul, play some soul that came out in the 60s and early 70s, right? Save for an intrusive Jay-Z appearance on a bonus version of "Oh Girl," however, this time warp never loosens its grip, unless you cannot help but position the protagonist in "Big Easy" -- where Saadiq nails a classic tactic exemplified by the likes of Holland-Dozier-Holland, matching bliss-inducing music with saddening lyrics -- squarely within 2005 New Orleans. ("They say them levees broke, and my babys gone.") Saadiq, with the occasional assist, wrote each song, and theyre all graced with the songwriting, arranging, and production touches of the recordings the man evidently cherishes and knows inside out. Heres where a modern master, backed by living and breathing session musicians (including Funk Brother Jack Ashford), masters the masters with startling accuracy. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 6 Title: Live in Paris Released: 2010-03 Tracks: 4 Duration: 21:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 100 Yard Dash (live version) (03:41) 2 Lets Take a Walk (live version) (07:07) 3 Sure Hope You Mean It (live version) (07:17) 4 Love That Girl (03:01) |
 | Album: 6 of 6 Title: Stone Rollin Released: 2011-04-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 43:16 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Heart Attack (03:03) 2 Go to Hell (04:20) 3 Radio (03:22) 4 Over You (02:31) 5 Stone Rollin (03:37) 6 Day Dreams (03:20) 7 Movin Down the Line (04:25) 8 Just Dont (05:17) 9 Good Man (03:46) 10 The Answer (09:30) |
| Stone Rollin' : Allmusic album Review : Stone Rollin’, Raphael Saadiqs second Columbia album, cuts straight to the chase. It begins with a tambourine-accented pounding groove à la Sly & the Family Stones “Dance to the Music,” adding grinding rhythm guitar and making a plea of a different kind: one of co-dependent desperation, served up Holland-Dozier-Holland style. Indeed, Stone Rollin is a little less clean-cut than 2008’s The Way I See It, tending to veer from pure mid-‘60s Motown for a more expansive approach that incorporates a number of late-‘60s and early-‘70s sounds, including Holland-Dozier-Holland’s grittier post-Motown work and early Philly soul, not to mention an apparent nod to Ray Charles on “Day Dreams.” Like The Way I See It, this is a big production. Saadiq plays the majority of the drums, guitars, and keyboards, but he is joined by dozens of string and horn players and a handful of crucial collaborators, including past associates and session legends Jack Ashford (percussion) and Paul Riser (string arrangements), as well as Earth, Wind & Fires Larry Dunn and Little Dragons Yukimi Nagano. These songs are tied together by the Mellotron, a vintage keyboard -- commonly associated with psychedelic and progressive rock recordings, but not foreign to soul -- that evokes diseased flutes and wheezing strings. Saadiq tends to use the instrument for shading, but it is central to the drama of “Go to Hell” (where it is played by Amp Fiddler), and it adds a melancholic tint to the otherwise happy-go-lucky “Movin’ Down the Line.” The songs that do not leave an immediate and lasting impression make moves on a subconscious level. “Good Man,” the most compelling song on the album, works both ways. A mini-epic of trouble-man soul, somewhere along the lines of Ohio Players “Our Love Has Died” and a missing cut off David Porters Victim of the Joke?, its elegant misery is instantly striking, enhanced by Taura Stinsons pouty guest vocal. After a few listens, that point where Saadiq reaches a falsetto, at the end of “So much better now, without you” -- just as the horns punch in -- raises the goose pimples and does so with successive plays. The album does not merely transcend period-piece status. It’s the high point of Saadiq’s career, his exceptional output with Tony! Toni! Toné! included. | ||