Customer Reviews

Mr. Brown

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The cover of this album is very eye catching. It is a visual homage to the legendary Isaac Hayes album "Hot Buttered Soul" with big 70's style bubble writing for the title. Nice tribute to a soul legend but we all know Sleepy couldn't carry Ike's jock. The opening sounds on this album define the underlying problem throughout this album. Annoying click track electronic drums. He should try listening to the artist he bit his cover from-live drums,horns and strings. Real baby makin' music is warm, natural and organic. Not cold and technical and made by machines. But enough griping about that. Sleepy is a decently talented singer and his instincts navigate him through this patchy but decent collection of songs. Most of it has already been released on various compilation albums and movie soundtracks as far back as '04 which gives it a disjointed vibe that messes with the flow big time. "Margarita" is the big hit with Pharell and exec. producer Big Boi. Nice club song/ear candy and probably the most uptempo track on this rather slow collection of drowsy tunes. I like track 3, "Get 2 It" which has a nice piano bounce to it and some nice crooning from Mr. Brown ( doing most of his own background singing as well) and his dad Jimmy Brown from funk band Brick on horns and Chanz Parkman doing keyboard duties. Another favorite is "Me, My Baby and My Cadillac", a cool 70's style song that recalls William DeVaughn's classic "Be Thankful For What You Got". "Underwater Love" and "Till(Your Legs Start Shaking) are both smoothed out tracks that stand out as well. My biggest complaint besides the drum sound is the lack of variety in tempo. All the songs are kind of slow and Sleepy sounds a bit, well, sleepy. Next time out he should down some energy drinks and get a live drummer(?uestlove from The Roots would be a good choice) and head to Miami and beg Betty Wright to produce him. His heart's in the right place, but musically it's his Soul that's missing.

I think the ablum could have been a little bit better, with the time he had to put it out.I agree with every one else he's tries to sound like Marvin Gaye.This is not Sleepys' first ablum,if you can find it pick up Sleepys'Theme The Vinyl Room you will enjoy that .

i'm a total fan of sleepy brown! been waiting for this release forever! i listened to it as soon as i got it home and haven't stopped. it's classic. sorta reminds me of the superfly soundtrack updated. so yeah, if you're a TRUE fan, you'll appreciate this work of art. peace!

Honestly, I give this album, 3.5 stars. I was kinda dissapointed with Sleepy lyrically, but he makes up for it with beats and catchy phrases. I love the live instruments, being that every song is not computer generated. I don't know, I just thought that him being around the likes of Outkast and Goodie Mob would exert some influence lyrically, but the lyrics are nothing profound. All in all, I like the album, reminds me of a pimp soundtrack, lol, easy on the ears, his vioce reminds me of Marvin Gaye on some songs. Some of my favorites are I'm Soul and Sunday Morning

Sleepy Brown has the same problem that Nate Dogg has&that is why he is one heck of a Hook Artist he is just a dime a dozen as a Solo Artist. the first single "Margarita" right off the bat showed he was gonna be a Hook Artist on his project. now this album has good instrumentation which you'd expect since Sleepy's Pop's was in the 70's R&B Band Brick. but there is nothing here that has what Brick had&that is a stand out jam to get your bounce to. Sleepy's best stuff is still working on Hooks with Outkast&Goodie Mob,etc... but as a Solo Artist it just ain't happening.

I feel it takes a brave singer to try and fuse hip-hop with soul, especially a male singer. And I mean hip-hop with SOUL and not hip-hop with r&b, which I feel any Tom, Dick or Harry can do. D'Angelo was able to carry it off very successfully as was Cee-Lo Green (aka half of Gnarls Barkley), but I struggle to think of anyone else.

Sleepy Brown - like Cee-Lo, he is a member of OutKast's Dungeon Family - has given it his best shot here. I remember when I first heard his voice on the OutKast hit "The Way You Move" and I knew it just a matter of time before his solo work came out. Well, here it is.

From when I heard the first few seconds of the first track "I'm Soul", I knew this was going to be something special. Musically, at least. Okay, the song does sample Teddy Pendergrass's "Come Go With Me" but it's done so cleverly you'd have to be an absolute anorak to spot it. Musically, the rest of the album is a masterpiece no question. All credit due to the Organized Noize crew for their very skillful production on most of the songs.

Some of my favourites include: "Margarita" featuring Pharrell and Big Boi, which is just a fun tune; "Dress Up", which made me feel all nostalgic for the days when people used to make real music; "One Of Dem Nights", which has a really funky backbeat to it; "Sunday Morning" and the very necessary "I Can't Wait", featuring OutKast themselves.

Sleepy can definitely sing and while I acknowledge those who hear traces of Marvin or Curtis in his voice, I feel he definitely has his own. Where I would advise him to brush up though is on his lyrical depth. For all the brilliant musicality and strong vocals on show here, there's very little lyrical depth, if any. That's one of the main differences between soul and r&b and if he doesn't know that, he should go back into the archives and check it out a bit more closely.

Or he could listen to some Anthony Hamilton.

Sleepy Brown is known for his unmistakable crooning on various Dungeon Family projects making the songs that much more enjoyable. With 2 releases under his belt already; The timeless Vinyl Room, and the group release Society Of Soul - BrainChild, he finally gets a major label release that is long overdue. Sleepy gave us a small sample of what was to come on Big Boi's Purple Ribbon album (Me And My Baby & My Cadillac also featured on this album). Sleepy pumps his heart and soul into this album as every song is a standout. I remember playing this cd so much when it came out that I had to sit it down for a while. Now that it's spring time I can break it back out and pick up right where I left off. You can play the album straight through because the production is on point and Sleepy's smooth soulful voice never bothers you. My favorite songs are Get 2 It, Dress Up, Margarita, I'm Soul, Me & My Baby, Till Your Legs Start Shaking. It's a tie for best song between Sunday Morning and One Of Dem Nights which are both masterpieces in their own right. And just when you thought it couldn't get any better they add the classic I Can't Wait ft. Outkast (from the Barbershop 2 soundtrack) that was only released on that soundtrack previously (which wasn't that good by the way). A great addition to the cd and even more reason to pick up this album. Sleepy Brown released one of the best albums of 06 with this one and since you probably already slept on it, don't keep hitting that snooze button. 5 stars.

I love Old School Funk and R&B as much as Sleepy Brown does, but he messed his album up by trying to add hip-hop to it. It doesn't work. I'm tired of beat machines or whatever the he11 they're called. How about more live instruments? Drums, congas, bass guitar, horns, more violins. This album could've been so much better had the hip-hop not been added to it. And a love ballad wouldn't have been bad either.

I have to admit I enjoyed Sleepy's Theme much better that this album, but this album is still excellent. I was a little disappointed with the amount of music. There is only 53 minutes of music on here and some of the songs have been around for quite some time. I know that Oh Ho Hum and Underwater Love were supposed to be on an album entitled Phunk-O-Naut that was never released. Me, My Baby & My Cadillac plus it's prelude were on the Got Purp! 2 album, and I Can't Wait was from Barbershop II. I have also known about Margaritas since a Rock the Vote Mixtape from '04. So that's where my 4 stars comes in. It seems as if this album was pieced together and not created.

Buy this album anyway and support good music!

4 Stars!

Personal Favorites:
1. Till (Your Legs Start Shaking)
2. Oh Ho Hum
3. Come Dance With Me

I have been waiting for this album since I Can't Wait came out. It is def not what I expected, but I have not been able to turn it off...I take it to work and bed everyday. It makes me want to go out steppin...I LOVE IT. If you are sick of listening to the same thing being sung by the same people then this is the album is for you.