D'Angelo: Voodoo

"Voodoo"... a fine title, indeed.  It is a stew of influences, this record: a smooth blend of Sly Stone horns, Marvin Gaye voices, Prince rhythms, Al Green come-ons, and, err, Method Man and Redman.  But the way it works on you, the listener, is a kind of Voodoo, too: it takes a while, but once it gets you, it fucking absolutely fucking POSSESSES you.

I remember the first time I listened to it.  It didn't seem like much, then; in fact, it struck me as a record that would be fairly easy to dismiss.  The drum tracks all seemed identical, and you could probably count to ten in the space between any two snare hits.  The bass grooves were deep, but also simple, mostly based around a couple notes repeated to infinity.  And D'Angelo himself was charming, but not too original-sounding: a guy who had a million voices, none of which he could truly call his own.

So I let the CD sit there and I composed little invectives against all the samey-sounding tracks on the record... The way "Playa Playa" started the record off weakly, the jarring inclusion of Method and Red, the general lyrical corniness, the go-nowhere-ness of "The Root," etc.

Imagine my surprise when I sorta started to like "Spanish Joint," and started to see it as a weird detour on a record that was otherwise very monotonous.  The speed of the groove got me into it... The near zaniness of D'Angelo's vocal arrangement kept me there.

In being kept there, I gradually got invested in "Feel Like Makin Love," the album's next track, as well.  Not D'Angelo's song, but still: that goddamn drum sound.  That huge drum-and-clap-and-organ beat that just could not be denied.  And the horn break, which was straight out of "There's A Riot Goin On"...But did even Sly ever come up with a groove so irresistibly groovy?

Can you see where this is going?  Next came the single, "How Does It Feel?," which sports one of the all-time great soul guitar licks.  After that, "Chicken Grease," bolstered by, again, an infectious guitar line and a seemingly bottomless groove.  Then "The Line," with its incredible chorus, so full of innuendo but still smooth and sly as fuck.  "Playa Playa" soon became a GREAT way to start a record-- both an epic brag and utter proof of the boast-- just as "Africa" became a perfect closer-- hushed, intimate, and utterly beautiful.

I still haven't gotten into "One Mo Gin."  Gimme some time... I'm sure I'll come around.  "Voodoo" is an immaculately written and conceived record, through and through.  I still cannot tell you exactly why.  At a certain point, though, songs that begin by sounding identical all develop unique identities, from the Sam Cookey balladry of "Send it On" to the gritty social commentary of "Devil's Pie."  D'Angelo finds that special place that Stevie Wonder once occupied, a musical zone where everything feels both intensely personal and appealingly universal, and he keeps it up for SEVENTY minutes.  It's an incredible achievement.