Search - Aloe Blacc :: Good Things

Good Things
Aloe Blacc
Good Things
Genres: Pop, Rap & Hip-Hop
 
Good Things marks a shift in methodology from personal to political for Aloe Blacc, who refers to the project as his report on present conditions the misappropriation of wealth, pillaging of resources, a universal lack of ...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: Aloe Blacc
Title: Good Things
Members Wishing: 8
Total Copies: 0
Label: Stones Throw
Original Release Date: 1/1/2010
Re-Release Date: 9/28/2010
Genres: Pop, Rap & Hip-Hop
Style: Pop Rap
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 659457224523, 659457224523

Synopsis

Product Description
Good Things marks a shift in methodology from personal to political for Aloe Blacc, who refers to the project as his report on present conditions the misappropriation of wealth, pillaging of resources, a universal lack of compassion, and the struggle to survive. Ethereal production from Truth & Soul's Leon Michels and Jeff Silverman mask a foreboding undercurrent in which Aloe crafts lyrics both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Nowhere is this more evident than on lead single, "I Need a Dollar" chosen by HBO as the theme music for the series How to Make It in America.
The first-generation American offspring of Panamanian parents, Aloe has become what writer and activist Amiri Baraka once said of John Coltrane: He is a singular scope of feeling...a more fixed traveler who has found cohesion in art and life. The path from his debut Shine Through in 2006 to Good Things is akin to the maturation of Marvin Gaye between That s the Way Love Is and the What's Going On masterwork that followed. Aloe has never purported to be any heir to Gaye, but musically, Good Things and What's Going On are companion pieces as both albums establish a character for the artists that sets them apart from the sea of performers making very vivid and discernible yet normative and conformist statements about who they are and what they do. Good Things is a definitive declaration that places Aloe directly in the framework of modern soul.

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CD Reviews

Real soul
Nse Ette | Lagos, Nigeria | 09/28/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Aloe Blacc's CD was reccommended to me by Amazon and I'm glad for the pointer as I'd probably have missed this otherwise. I love his rich tenor voice.



With a retro Soul sound remniscent of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye, his lyrics touch mainly on social issues. Opening cut is the groovy "I need a dollar" with darting horns, an insistent piano riff, and lyrics told from the view point of someone laid off. "Green lights" is organ-driven Soul, while the guitars in the funky "Hey brother" sound like they stepped out of Shaft.



Other standouts are the lilting Reggae "Miss fortune", the falsetto-sung laid back "Life so hard" (with theatrical strings, a great echoing guitar solo, and lyrics touching on hunger, war and more), the breezy "Femme fatale", the bouncy "Loving you is killing me" (with nice layered harmonies), "If I" ("If I sang a song, would you sing with me / if I shed a tear, would you cry with me?"), and the Gospel-tinged "Momma hold my hand" (with autobiographical lyrics remniscing on his childhood).



The production is light and free, perfect for this uplifting CD. Highly reccommended!"
Absolutely THE BEST album of the year!
djg | 10/06/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)

"The title says it all. Although a soul album (and I mean soul in the classic sense and not Hip Hop) this is modern and poignant. It just does not get any better than this."