Customer Reviews

Airtight's Revenge

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Absolutely. Amazing. Music. Like the The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe or anything by Bjork up to Vespertine, Bilal really twists our perception of what makes good music in this modern age. If you are tired of assembly line R&B, superficial pop(pop music wasn't always fluff), then please give this music a spin. The production, the mixing, like all Bilal releases, is off the charts. You can hear it in the vocals and the instrumentals. If any part of you lives, you will feel this music in your chest. The man put his heart and soul on wax for us to enjoy. I am jamming to track #3 All Matter right now. I found this cd by accident while looking for an LP version of his masterpiece "Love for Sale". Bilal is a formally trained composer and musician. So the man does know the science behind music. And it shows in the breadth and depth of his musical influences. Vocally, he reminds me of Prince. But he actually BUILDS on what Prince did without just being a derivative. The whole cd is one long love song, dedicated to music and its admirers. Again, if your perception of music is dominated by what the music industry has been churning out, then some of this stuff will go over your head. I am not interested in hearing a repeat of something that was already done. I need the artist to take my mind to another dimension, someplace where I may not even feel comfortable. But a new musical plane nonetheless. If you want to just get lost in the sheer brilliance of an extremely talented man, then press play and absorb. Those with open minds will appreciate this oeuvre.

First -- Kudos to Bilal for artistic integrity and expanding the boundaries of blak music. "Airtight's Revenge" is truly an artist album and as such it's bound to have detractors and supporters. Count me amongst the supporters. I appreciate an artist who stands apart from the mainstream and puts forward a musical vision that informs and elevates. Tracks like 'Flying', 'All Matter', 'Restart', 'Level', 'the Dollar' and 'Who are you' -- are songs of perspectives and ideas. Intellectual and conscious, yes, but rooted in common vernaculars (i.e street culture, soul music, jazz, etc) that ground these songs in the world of reality. Granted many of the songs on "Airtight" musically veer toward an non-radio friendly, avant garde/twisted style - more informed by disparate influences such as Radiohead, LA wonk/underground and the fringes of black art music. Nevertheless, it all works for me. I find it all accessible, interesting and complete. Bilal's pipes are well displayed - he demonstrates that he is a vocalist with incredible range, vocal nuance, texture and color, and emotional power. Listen to the sincerity in the song 'Little One' an homage to his children who have developmental challenges. I am sure this is a message relate-able to anyone who is a parent and loves his/her children. Bilal is a rarity - a true talent amongst the vastly under-talented and successful. It's a shame we live in time where folks can spit on people with integrity and individuality and elevate those mind numbing, bull-crapping artists that we are continuously force fed- Trey Songz? , Marques Houston- really? When the day comes that one of these fabricated machine idols can write a song as insightful as "Robots" -- maybe then I can take such opinions seriously. Until then let the "haters" step aside and stay in the champagne rooms with the rest of the blunted bubbleheads.

With Maxwell's Blacksummer's Night, Bilal's Airtight's Revenge is a stinging backhand to all the kids releasing and listening to mediocre R&B--both CDs feature composed, well-crafted songs performed by grown men who know a little something about both life and their craft. While Maxwell recalls the past, Bilal evokes the future: the eleven songs are musically complex while being deceptively simple, performed by--get this--an authentic human voice: no autotunes here. For that alone the CD gets three stars; the other two are for containing great music. If you're tired of listening to children whine and croon about subjects they know little about, do yourself a favor and purchase this CD. If you're an adult or just have mature ears, you won't be disappointed.

Neo Soul crooner Bilal released his critically acclaimed debut "1st born second" in 2001. Since then, he's seen his second album 2006's "Love for sale" shelved by his label (though it did leak to fans' delight), and appeared on albums by Common, Erykah Badu, Guru, Tweet, Solange, Jay-Z, and most recently Reflection Eternal earlier this year.

"Airtight's revenge" is thus a highly anticipated release and now signed to a smaller Indie label, he's given free rein to experiment, and experiment he does. The album finds him mining that breezy hippy retro Soul sound similar to Shuggie Otis' masterpiece "Inspiration information". The 11 tracks on the album range from the Jazz/Funk "Cake & eat it too", the Psychedelic groove "Restart", sunny joyous "All matter", the midtempo clap-laden guitar-driven "Move on", the Funk/Rock "Robots" with spoken/sung lyrics, the trippy falsetto-sung "The dollar" with quirky signature changes, and the musically meandering "Who are you" with a Reggae coda.

Everything else comprises ballads; the spare piano-driven "Flying", the experimental free form horn-laced "Levels" (futuristic Jazz), the absolutely enchanting and tender "Little one" (with nice echoing guitars and touching lyrics to his sons promising "I won't let you make the same mistakes / I'll always love you"), and the closing acoustic "Think it over".

I love the loose live sound, and his tenor is as supple and pliant as ever. Incredibly moving, the only other Soul releases that moved me this much this year have been Erykah Badu's and Janelle Monáe's.

Well the day has finally come that Bilal Oliver fans have awaited nearly a decade, the release to the follow up to his classic debut 1st Born Second. It should be noted that Airtight is hardly a follow up to that LP, as it was created by a man in his early 20s, now in his 30s the experiences and situations Oliver has found himself are clearly and cleverly stated on this project. He is a grown up for real now, and shows on songs like "Robot's" and "Little One". "Move On" is one of those songs that everyone who has a problem letting go can relate to and learn from. "Levels" and "All Matter" are ballads reminiscent of the sadly shelved Love for Sell, and will no doubt be in heavy rotation. "Cake and Eat it Too" and "Restart" are also standouts. I am fairly positive that anyone who has been counting down the last months for this album to drop are not the usual music fan, so you know what to expect when pop this disc in. Something different, something deep, something beautiful!

Peace!

Bilal's finally back with his new album, Airtight's Revenge. Very eclectic, hard hitting, A+ production and Bilal kills it on the vocals, as usual. Fans of his first album will not be disappointed. I'd go as far to say that this one is better than the first. With only one blemish on the album IMO (Who Are You), Airtight is well worth the price it's posted for.

Standouts:

Restart

All Matter

Levels

Little One

Move On

That really is it. I bought it when it first came out and then played it a few times, put it away, and then took it out again to play one night while I washed dishes, and I have been playing it non-stop ever since. This is not an album of throw away, forgettable R&B music crafted for the radio station or the booty shaking club. This is an album that is an experience, it is visual, it is emotional, it is melodic, it is intelligent, it makes my heart race, it makes my eyes well up, it makes me chuckle, it makes me reminisce, it makes me contemplate the future. My personal favorites are All Matter, Flying, Little One, Robots, Think It Over... they all are individually and cohesively a masterpiece of universal love and concern for humanity in a creative expression.

This man, artist, musician makes other artist, etc, step there game up with creativity & range. This album, from top to bottom, ranks high on the list of album favs in my opinion as well as everyone else's. The music is great along with vocals. Bilal has been missed like the others, D'Angelo, Rapheal Saadiq, Maxwell. Thanks to artist like Raheem D, Dwele & a few others to name, soul music has stayed somewhat ok. But this release from one of the worlds famous heavy hitters, is a sure buy. Just pop it in & drive, chill, relax, workout or whatever. Big ups to Bilal for keeping the love alive...

If your a "true" fan of music and not the radio programmed playlist that most are accustom to then you need this album. This album is a music lover's delight. The album takes you from Bilal, to Jimi, to Prince, to Cody Chestnutt, to Curtis Mayfield, to Sa-Ra and back to Bilal again. Dope Record...

Waited 10 years for this gem, it's worth the wait. Happy to have it in my collection, I was going to get the digital version but I didn't feel right doing that since the first one I got I got a copy from my teacher, I believe he got tired of me for asking him can I listen to it everytime the class had breaks and plus I had surgery coming up for my back. Anyway back to the topic my favorite tracks (even though I love them all) are; Levels, All Matters, Little One, and Who Are You. He is one of the few r&b/soul artists that I buy, the next one might be Janelle Monae or Marsha Ambrosius.