Customer Reviews

Luvanmusiq [Vinyl]

5 star:		(64)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I believe it was just a couple of weeks ago I asked myself if neo-soul/R&B singer Musiq was ever going to return back to the R&B world. When I saw first single "B.U.D.D.Y." making a dint in the Pop and R&B charts, I arrived at my answer. It wasn't until I saw an advertisement in a Best Buy ad that I knew that LUVANMUSIQ was bowing Tuesday, March 13. Honestly, I wasn't the least bit disappointed by Musiq's album. There are few R&B artists who exude the soulfulness of Musiq; most of those breeds of artist (Maxwell, D'Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu etc...) haven't returned with new material "for a minute". To see the neo-soul movement beginning to take off again (via John Legend, Anthony Hamilton, and etc...) is great. Sure, LUVANMUSIQ has its over-"urbanized" moments, but there are few of them in the very tight forty-nine minute duration.

The album opens surprisingly with first single "B.U.D.D.Y.", surely the most unexpected hit from Musiq which is actually doing fairly well on the singles charts. The production is very soulful, reminiscent of old school 80's R&B production, evident via the sample which features horns, 'whirly' electric pianos, and deep, throbbing bass lines. Most shocking about "B.U.D.D.Y." is while you know that Musiq isn't selling out with his 'hip-hop influenced vocals', he isn't afraid to surprise the listener with his "spoken" vocals. "Ms. Philadelphia", the second track from LUVANMUSIQ isn't nearly as commercial as "B.U.D.D.Y." (a surprise itself), but it is best that it isn't. The sample of Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed" works perfectly here, coupled with freshened drum programming, and exceptional songwriting and soulful vocal performance. Despite an entirely too long four year hiatus, you feel that Musiq truly hasn't lost a beat; he is still as strong as he was in the early 00s.

"Teachme" is very reminiscent of the classic six-feel R&B number. The simple production with piano, guitar, and bass is great; it leaves enough "space" within the production for Musiq to allow his lead vocals and backgrounds take over. The hook here is among the very best of the album, and easily memorable. One general strong point about LUVANMUSIQ in general is that the material resonates, something that can't be said about some R&B albums or albums in general today. Another pleasant surprise follows via the Saadiq/Ozuna assisted "Betterman", easily my favorite of the album. The production work is at its best, and the song is incredibly catchy. Maybe it isn't a great choice for a proceeding single, but it is definitely a hot track with it's rocking bluesy keyboard work and Musiq's incredibly resonant-tenor vocals. Brilliant.

"The Questions" doesn't resonate with me as much personally as the previous 4 tracks, but it isn't bad in the least. In fact, Musiq's tone maybe among the smoothest here compared to the rest of the album. The bare bones piano accompaniament works very effective there. If you want a great R&B slow jam, look no further than the great "Today", one of the more sincere R&B ballads I've heard for a while. The vocals cause the listener to have chills. The songwriting is incredibly potent and strong here. Musiq does make a good decision to speed up things with the great uptempo "Make You Happy", which still has the vintage production edge, though coupled with enough contemporary flare to captivate a young urban audience.

"Ridiculous" and "Millionaire" also prove to be consistent as well, making LUVANMUSIQ nine tracks strong, absent of any true filler material. The production fo "Rediculous" specifically is among the very strongest of the entire album. "Take You There" once again slows things down, again accentuating Musiq's strong points, urban balladry. Here, there is definitely a retro-soul feel, keeping alive the influence of soul greats Bobby Womack, Marvin Gaye, and even 80s veterans Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, and Keith Sweat. "Lullaby" proves to be another strong ballad and "Greatest Love" features lush synthesizers, background vocals, and Musiq's beautiful resonating tenor. It proves to be a great end to a filler-material free album.

There are very few albums out today that come close to being as consistent as Musiq's LUVANMUSIQ. The Only R&B album of 2007 that is as consistent is the great posthumously release Gerald LeVert album, IN MY SONGS, which has no filler material whatsoever. Great album, in my opinion. 4 stars, Musiq.

Musiq stated in an interview that the reason he dropped "Soulchild" from his name after his first album Aijuswanaseing is because that he didn't feel he'd perfected his craft yet. Well, since he reattached it for his fourth album Luvanmusiq, it's probably safe to assume that he believes he has now indeed perfected the craft. And I have to agree.

To be honest, this is only the second album from Musiq that I even like (Aijuswanaseing was the first). I thought Juslisen was overrated, and I REALLY didn't like Soulstar. The main problem with both of those albums was that a lot of the songs sounded exactly like "Just Friends (Sunny)". Because of this, I was worried when I first heard "B.U.D.D.Y." True, it doesn't share the same beat, but it's about the same topic: he can't get a girl out of his mind but they don't have to be a couple. Fortunately, the rest of the album is more varied.

As usual, there are ballads aplenty on here, like "Today", "Teachme" and "Thequestions". But while each of those slow jams are good in their own right, the best ones would have to be the two at the end of the album: "Lullaby" and "Greatestlove". But uptempo tracks like "Millionaire" also impress. "Ridiculous" is pretty good too; that is, except for the part that says "Just being with you is the truth/Without you I'm a liar".

As a few other reviewers hinted at, it's also good that Musiq learned that a 47-minute album of great material is better than a 75+ minute album with a lot of filler, as he tended to do in the past. This is his best album in a while, so listening to it will really have you lovin' Musiq.

Anthony Rupert

P.S. In response to another reviewer, blue-eyed soul only refers to NON-blacks that make soul music.

I have been anxiously waiting for the 4th release of the Philadelphia native and I am not disappointed. No, it is not as ear-catching as the monumental neo-soul classic Juslisen but this is still better than 95% of the music out there right now. Yeah, Buddy is a good song using the sample from Taana Gardner's classic Heartbeat from the 80s but there is so much more. I also love Ms. Philadelphia (cowritten by Ne-Yo), Teach Me, Betterman, Ridiculous, and Millionaire (coproduced by Marc Gordon who was a member of the group LeVert). I do understand how some folks say that Musiq's music kinda sound the same and I would love to hear a bit more variety outside of being friends with the ladies but considering the choice of music today, it is so refreshing to hear about something that is not bump & grind. I read the comment by Gospelgal that he has the "same sound that everyone else in soul and R&B is regurgitating". That is some BS!!! Without profanity, let's just say the Gospelgal has no idea what she is talking about. Being the owner and listener of over 2000 CDs in my collection and Musiq's complete discography, I know the in-sound being used over and over and Musiq's sound is uniquely his. As I stated, this CD is a very good one, not as great as Juslisen but very very good indeed. This CD will be in heavy rotation for the next few weeks. Go and cop it. Peace!!!

I was introduced to Musiq Soulchild when I purchased the "Nutty Professor 2" soundtrack for Janet Jackson's "Doesn't Really Matter" and Jay-Z's "Hey Papi". Musiq's "Just Friends", Case's "Missing You" and Jazz from Dru Hill's "Here With Me" were my favorite r&b songs on the soundtrack. Musiq's "Aijuswanaseing" was released in the year 2000. Along with "Just Friends", the track "Love" made this CD a CD to have in your collection for a long time. My other favorite tracks ended up being "Mary Go Round", "Settle For My Love" w/Aaries, "Girl Next Door", "143" and "L Is Gone". Musiq released "Juslisen" in 2002. I was definitely anticipating this CD after hearing the track "Half Crazy", which is still one of my favorite Musiq songs today. My other favorite tracks ended up being "Newness", "Time", "Previouscats", "Don't Change", and "Best Friend". He also had a video for the remix to "Half Crazy" which used the same sample that A Tribe Called Quest used for "I Left My Wallet In El Segundo". Musiq released "Soulstar" a year later in 2003. "Forthenight" was the lead single and was definitely a nice track for the clubs. "Whoknows" was the next single and a nice slow jam. My other favorite tracks were "Youloveme", "Womanopoly", "Don't Stop" w/Bilal and "Infatueighties".

"Soulstar" ended up being the last CD that Musiq recorded on Def Soul. In what appeared to be some kind of swap, Fabolous ended up on Def Jam and Musiq Soulchild ended up being on Atlantic Records. Fabolous touched on the subject in Vibe magazine but he didn't want to elaborate too much.

"Luvanmusiq" is the 4th CD that has been released by Musiq Soulchild. When I heard "Buddy" I was glad that Musiq was back on the scene after such a long hiatus. (4 years is long for Musiq, when he essentially released 3 CDs in 3 years from 2000-2003) He used the same sample that De La Soul, Monie Love, The Jungle Brothers, and A Tribe Called Quest used for the remix for their song of the same title. Musiq puts a 2007 twist to the track but still keeps the same meaning as he tries to explain to a particular woman how being buddies is an equal beneficial arrangement. This track easily ends up being the best track on the CD. "Ms. Philadelphia" is another stellar track on this CD as Musiq is basically trying to do the same thing as he did on "Buddy" as he is trying to get the attention of a particular female. "Teach Me" is the second single from "Luvanmusiq" and continues the trend of 2nd single slow jams with "Love", "Don't Change" and "Who Knows". On "Teach Me" Musiq is attempting to tell his woman that he wants to be taught to love her the way that she wants to be loved since he is not use to being in that particular situation. "Better Man" is produced by Raphael Saadiq and has Musiq telling us how a female that he has met makes him want to be a better man than he has been in the past. "The Questions" ends up being one of my favorite tracks because Musiq personally questions how he has dealt with females in the past. What man hasn't done that? What man hasn't wished that when dealing with some of the females in their past, what if they had done something differently or treated a particular woman better or not settled to be with a woman that he may not have wanted to be with. This track is classic Musiq Soulchild. "Today" ends up being the direct result of answering the so-called "Questions". Musiq mas made up his mind that he is going to let the past experiences help him in making the decision(s) that he has come to make today. Since he has found a woman that he is willing to take a chance with, he isn't going to let the pass interfere with what he wants to do now. This track is also another favorite of mine. "Makeyouhappy" is about as get as Musiq is going to get on this CD when it comes to an uptempo jam other than "Buddy". I am not saying that Musiq can't make uptempo jams. I am just saying that he makes slow jams better. Let's just call it the "Jodeci" syndrome. "Takeyouthere" is a good example of what I am referring to. After 4 CDs it's clear that Musiq is in more of a comfort zone when he makes slow jams. On this track, Musiq is willing to be patient with the female in question but if she is ready to take the next step then he is also ready for that. "Lullaby" ends up being a decent song but compared to "The Questions", "Today" and "Takeyouthere" it ends up being just another slow jam. "Greatestlove" works out better but I still feel that you will like "The Questions", "Today" and "Takeyouthere" better. However, "Greatestlove" ends the CD on a great note as Musiq expresses how this particular woman has changed his life.

If you bought this CD at Best Buy like I see some reviewers like "Chandler" did, then you were also privleged to get 3 bonus tracks: Circuit City had one bonus track and Target had a bonus DVD that came along with the CD. "Allaboutyou" is a decent uptempo track but you will like "Buddy" and "Makeyouhappy" better. "Ridethrough" ends up being the best of the bonus tracks as Musiq tells you how he is riding through the neighborhood trying to sneak peaks at a female that he is admiring. On "Slowdown" Musiq sounds as if he is trying to continue his "17" and "Caught Up" series as he tells a twisted story of how he has been creeping on his wife and how his wife and his mistress ends up at the same place at the same time as his wife is about to give birth. (Wow!)

Overall, Musiq has definitely impressed me with "Luvanmusiq". Personally, I am glad that he is back on the scene. If you are a fan of Musiq's previous 3 CDs, I feel that you will like this CD. It's clear that some songs are better than others but there isn't too much "filler" on this CD. Musiq could have found a better way to package the bonus tracks but that doesn't mean that I am not going to buy the CD because of that. If you have all of Musiq's previous CDs you should also pick up "Luvanmusiq".

James' Top 5

1) Buddy
2) Teach Me
3) The Questions
4) Today
5) Ms. Philadelphia

Honorable Mention:

Better Man
Take You There
Make You Happy
Greatest Love
Ridethrough (Bonus Track)

Ranking Musiq's Discography:

1) Aijuswanaseing
2) Juslisen
3) Luvanmusiq
4) Soul Star

Musiq Soulchild's (A.K.A. Talib Johnson) fourth album is "Luvanmusiq" (2007) a short twelve track release from the Philadelphia native. Musiq looks for some companionship on the album's opener and lead single "B.U.D.D.Y". Musiq sings about a beautiful lady on "Ms. Philadelphia". Musiq then looks for some help in overcoming trust issues and learning how to love on "Teachme", while paying tribute to a special woman who makes him want to be a "Betterman". The first track is interesting in that Musiq confront's a relationship issue which challenges many men who are taught to be stoic and keep their emotions in check. Musiq looks for "the one" on "The Questions". On the slow jam "Today", Musiq sings about the search for the love, and how we sometimes meet our loved ones when we least expect it. "Makeyouhappy" is an upbeat feel good joint, decent love ballads "Ridiculous" & "Millionaire" follow. Musiq slows things down some for "Take You There", and provides a laidback "Lullaby". The album's closer is "Greatest Love", a soulful Musiq finishes the album off on a good note. Musiq is happy on this release providing a lot of love ballads, and keeping his music genuine. I personally would of liked to see a larger album with more variety/guest appearances, example track's like "Struggle No More" with Anthony Hamilton & Jaheim. At the same time Musiq avoids some of the missteps of other artist's by keeping his release short. "B.U.D.D.Y." has about six different Hip Hop remixes, I am not a big fan of any of them, so I prefer the fact that Musiq kept them off the album. Overall "Luvanmusiq is a stellar effort which may satisfy new and old fans alike. 3.5.

A great album, not his best work, but his best since his best. Job well done.

I've been a huge Musiq fan since day 1 and this album doesn't disappoint. I got the Best Buy version that gives you three bonus tracks and those tracks are great. Trust me and get the Best Buy version because RideThrough is probably the best song on the album and you'll miss out if you don't pick that version up.

On his senior album,Luvanmusiq; Musiq Soulchild his growth as an artist and delivers on the strongest R&B album of early 2007. Initially I had my doubts that Musiq could stay gone as long he did and come back and be stronger than ever. However I was proven when I picked this CD out. The CD opener and lead single B.U.D.D.Y is a nice chill song that anyone can relate to and what follows is an album full of ballads and up-tempo winners. Musiq is the strongest on the ballads three ballads in particular really show that this brother can SANG not sing but SANG ! Track # 2 Ms .Philadelphia co-written by Ne-Yo is a winner with it's chorus and bridge while track # 3 Teach Me is a sensual without going into standard R.Kely territory. However my favorite track is # 11 Lullaby which is going to be making it's way on to my latest slow jam mix tape ASAP. All in all a great album from a very talented singer.

This album, although it is not on par with "Juslisen," is as solid as his previous efforts if not better than his last album. I agree with the other reviewer that this album has more of a contemporary - rather than a soul - sound, but with that said, I think it surpasses the R&B junk currently playing on the radio. I wish he would have pushed the musical boundaries, vocally and arrangement-wise, a bit more and employed his falsetto for emotional effect on more of these songs. Oh well. Unsurprisingly, my favorite tracks here are "Betterman," produced by the one and only Raphael Saadiq (that brother can do no wrong!), and "Ms. Philadelphia." A retro, throwback vibe is what these two tracks have in common. Overall, I am not blown away by this effort but would still recommend it. On another note, I would highly recommend Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black," and underground neosoul phenom Eric Roberson's "Left."

It's often said that less is more, and In the case of Philly's own (YEAH!) Musiq Soulchild, a better credo you'd be hard pressed to find. 4 albums deep, and still making damn good music. Oh yeah he's still got his haters who don't hesitate to take shots at his pedestrian voice and simplistic lyrics. But compare Musiq's body of work to his contemparies, many of whom have fallen to the wayside, and you can't help but give the brother a soulclap for his ability to remain relevant.

Personally, I've always been a fan of his for the fact that his songs are much like the average brotha's if they decided to write a song. No overtly crude analogies, no incessant begging, and no cookie cutter production. (shout out to Ivan & Carvin) Just smooth singing and tunes about the everyday experience. I'll admit, I wan't the biggest fan of "Buddy" the first single off of Luvanmusic". It's okay, but I found it to be a lil too safe. Where the album shines of course are his ballads and slow tempo cuts. "Millionaire" "Teachme" and "Lullaby" showcase MS's easy approach to the mic, and really hit home lyrically if you are in love or have been.

Not many uptempos to get excited about, as "Betterman" is one of few head nodders besides "Buddy" and to an extent "Ms. Philadelphia". The others, "Makeyouhappy" and "Ridiculous" are skip worthy IMO. I do however, love the bonus treat of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles "Ooh Baby Baby" which actually works very well with Musiq's falsetto. Chalk up another win for modern R&B's covering of classic soul joints. But the albums closer "Greatestlove" is what puts the whole effort over the top! An amazing ballad, this joint is quickly becoming my favorite song right now! This could go down artistically, as the best song in his career. Yes it's that good. As a fellow 215er, I'm proud of Musiq on this one. Not only does he return with a banger, but perhaps he's upped the ante for his contempories (namely my boy Bilal) to bring the heat in the 07-08. Keep doing you Talib!