Voodoo

When D'Angelo popped on the scene in '97 with his critical and commercial breakthrough BROWN SUGAR, he brought a gush of refreshing air to the musty world of soulful, sensual R&B. When VOODOO was released, little in the R&B world had changed, as the same stale, colour-by-numbers vocals sung over the simplest of beats--ripped off from Teddy Riley or Timbaland--dominated the genre. But once again, the singer/songwriter (for that's what he is) dropped a dose of energy into the soul planet with his invigorating, jazzy, funky, constantly metamorphosing sophomore effort. more...

While much of VOODOO is not entirely original, D'Angelo does wear his influences on his sleeve, particularly those of Prince and Marvin Gaye. D'Angelo does so many things well that by the time he is finished, it's hard to question whether his sound is his own or an exacting mesh of all that's come before. Truly it doesn't matter, for VOODOO is so endearingly crafty and knee-weakeningly seductive, it's practically impossible to close your heart to it. From the free-jazzy, trippy old-school-dragged-through-the-blues muck of "Devil's Pie" to the straightforward torch singing of "Untitled", VOODOO mesmerises and hypnotises with soul both familiar and brand new. A tasty treat.

Rolling Stone (1/4/01, p.106)
- Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of 2000.

The Wire (1/01, p.34)
- Included in Wire's "50 Records Of The Year" [2000].

The Source (4/00, p.216)
- "...D'Angelo has grown - lyrically and sonically....VOODOO is seamless - and just as perfectly raw...as a 90-minute jam session in a funky Brooklyn loft..."

Vibe (12/99, p.247-8)
- "...the most daring song-oriented album by a mainstream R&B artist of his generation....defining himself as much by what his funk refuses to do as what it does to legitimately function in the post-James Brown continuum....refreshing..."

Spin (1/01, p.73)
- Ranked #4 in Spin's "Top 20 Albums of the Year [2000]" - "...The year's best mood album - a retro future-gaze of 'chicken grease' funk, boho politicking, hip-hop badass and sexual healing..."

Rolling Stone (2/3/00, pp.55-6)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...does for R&B what underground heads like Mos Def and The Roots do for hip-hop: They strip it down to just smarts, truth and beats. This is meant to be soul music that moves like smoke easing from a blunt....a superb smoke..."

Q (3/00, p.104)
- 4 stars out of 5 - "...the kind of smoky grooves that could be expected of a Cheeba Sound release....In short, VOODOO has what so many modern r&b records lack: soul."

NME (2/14/00, p.42)
- 9 out of 10 - "...represents African American music at a crossroads....To simply call [it] neo-classical soul...would be [to] ignore the elements of vaudeville jazz, Memphis horns, ragtime blues, funk and bass grooves, not to mention hip-hop, that slip out of every pore of these haunted songs..."

Muzik (1/00, p.105)
- 5 stars out of 5 - "...confirms D'angelo as the male counterpart to Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill....VOODOO truly warms your heart....the kind of artist who's destined to encourage a new generation of pre-eminent singers..."

CMJ (1/24/00, p.23)
- "...imbued with [his] trademark slippery soul...[boasting] more detailed production and jazzier underpinnings....VOODOO remians a stripped-down affair....[as] D'Angelo remains in a class by himself."

Mojo (3/00, p.108)
- "...THERE"S A RIOT GOIN' ON-period Sly Stone is the motivator on the opening track 'Playa Playa'....Eddie Kendricks' pipes, Prince's balladry, Stevie Wonder's drive and Gaye are all reference points on what, overall, is a darker, moodier record..."

Melody Maker (2/22/00, p.47)
- 4.5 stars out of 5 - "...a f###-that, noon-day sun, molasses-heavy crawl...full of people who can actually sing and play guitars and drums...and all the songs are about sagging....a fantastically and impressively skewed mindset."

Entertainment Weekly (1/28/00, p.104)
- "...an intimate jam session, each song bleeding into another....D'Angelo creates a stoned soul picnic bar none..." - Rating: A-

Downbeat (8/00, pp.72-3)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...Transforms his sound into something strange and new, stripping down to the bare essentials of a beat and vocals....yielding a ritualistic sound..."