Album Review: D’Angelo – Interpretations:Remakes

Album Review — 23 June 2010

By shelz.

D’Angelo’s rise to fame and quite dramatic fall from the neo soul spotlight seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. He’s been gone longer than he was on top, yet folks still yearn for his return. He made an indelible mark on the genre with just two studio albums and has been hinting at a third for close to a decade. Well, when he wasn’t suffering from the dark side of fame, primarily an alleged drug addiction.

That doesn’t stop his fan base from hoping against hope or labels from trying to make a few extra bucks from his back stock though as recently a compilation of D’Angelo covers has hit the net for purchase. The album, Interpretations: Remakes is 13 songs most of us have heard before, but who doesn’t like a nice neat collection for organizations sake. Plus, with D’Angelo’s claim in a recent interview that album three is on the way; why not get the party started with a lil throwback soul from our favorite M.I.A. soldier of love. It’s not naked hottie on a rotisserie, but its still Mr. Voodoo and that’s always a great thing.

Some of the tracks are boosted from D’Angelo’s albums. His remake of the Roberta Flack original “Feel Like Makin Love” appeared on Voodoo while his cover of “Cruisin”, which is one of those rare remakes that’s better than the original, was snatched from Brown Sugar.

A few of the tracks are pulled from movie soundtracks including the very smooth “Heaven Must Be Like This,” by The Ohio Players that was featured on the Maya Angelou film Down in the Delta. He sticks to the script on this one. He must know there isn’t any way to make it better than the original offering from Skin Tight. The jazzy piece about the tranquility of afterglow is one of The Ohio Players most memorable melodies. There is also the Erykah Badu collaboration from High School High, “Your Precious Love.” It’s not Marvin and Tammy, but the song is still enjoyable.

D’Angelo also tackles Roy Ayers with “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.” If you’re not old enough to remember the original, think Mary J Blige’s “My Life.” This is a meh remake, but the lounge style musical foundation of that track is beautiful and holds up even with the bland vocals. Earth, Wind & Fire is represented with “Cant Hide Love.” D’Angelo takes nothing away from Maurice White with this rendition and his back-up singers don’t hit all the high notes, but it’s a noble attempt.

The best of the compilation though has to be D’Angelo’s sonic manhandling of Bill Withers’ “Use Me.” The band is beyond funky. The organ is perfect, the drums are divine and the sax ties it together wonderfully. The band backing D’Angelo on this piece included David Sanborn, Steve Gadd, Marcus Miller and Eric Clapton, so it had no choice but to be dope.

Also included are “Superman Lover” by Johnny “Guitar” Watson, “Sweet Sticky Thing” by The Ohio Players and “She’s Always in My Hair” by Prince as well as a few others.

D’Angelo said recently that he’s been vibing to Black Merda recently. Whether that is a foreshadowing of his upcoming project, is yet to be seen and that’s only if you believe a 3^rd project is coming at all. So it might be in your best interest to pick up some of this soulful D’Angelo before he starts on his own personal Rebirth. If you have Brown Sugar and Voodoo already, Interpretations: Remakes might not be a bad addition to your collection; even if only for nostalgia’s sake.

black-thumbs-up 3.5 out of 5