Voodoo

1995年にデビューした、新世代ソウルの開拓者にして天才マルチ・プレイヤー、ディアンジェロの2000年リリースのセカンド・アルバム。メソッド・マンやレッド・マンをフィーチャー、そしてローリン・ヒルとのデュエットも実現！通にはたまらない、オーガニック・ソウルの名盤中の名盤。

Q - 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." Muzik - 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..." Down Beat - 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..." Vibe - "...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..." Mojo - "...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..." The Wire - Included in Wire's "50 Records Of The Year" [2000]. NME - 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..." The Source - "...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..." Rolling Stone - 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..." Entertainment Weekly - "...an intimate jam session, each song bleeding into another....D'Angelo creates a stoned soul picnic bar none..." - Rating: A- Rolling Stone - Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of 2000. CMJ - "...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 - "...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..." Down Beat - 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..." Muzik - 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..." Spin - 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..." NME - 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..." Rolling Stone - Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's Top 10 Albums of 2000. Q - 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." Vibe - "...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..." CMJ - "...

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.
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.|

Five years after his Brown Sugar album helped launch contemporary R&B, D'Angelo finally returned with his sophomore effort, Voodoo. His soulful voice is just as sweet as it was on Brown Sugar, though D'Angelo stretches out with a varied cast of collaborators, including trumpeter Roy Hargrove and guitarist Charlie Hunter, fellow neo-soul stars Lauryn Hill and Raphael Saadiq, and hip-hop heads like DJ Premier, Method Man & Redman, and Q-Tip. It must have been difficult to match his debut (and the frequent delays prove it was on his mind), but Voodoo is just as rewarding a soul album as D'Angelo's first. ~ John Bush