Customer Reviews

Way I Feel

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As I start most of my reviews, I caught Remy Shand on BET's Midnight Love. "Take A Message" caught my eye from the 1st time I saw the video and as I found myself singing to the words, after BET played the video for 3 straight weeks, I was hooked. "The Way I Feel" is a classic in the making. He reminds me a lot of Maxwell, I have to admit, and the way he sings about the blues will "make you wanna holler" just as Marvin Gaye did. Now is Remy Shand, Marvin Gaye? Being fair to Remy, I'll just say pick up his CD and see. Remy Shand is going down a road that many have tried to travel but to me, an avid music listener, it's all about the presentation and the sound. Remy Shand makes his debut CD sound as if he has been making CDs for 10 years. The fast forward button will not be necessary at all. This CD is clearly one of the best r&b CDs in the year 2002. The title track gets things off to a good start and is a good way to get the listener to tune in. However, I will have to say Track 2, "Burning Bridges" is what did it for me. This song is the perfect song for a man that is trying to break down why he has to leave a situation, whether it is a friendship that is beyond platonic or an exclusive relationship. Remy has this art down to a science. As a man, you can be reminded of a similiar situation that you may have been in yourself. It's also good to see another artist who writes and prodcues the majority or all of the material. This means that the artist poured their heart and soul into everything and the songs weren't written for a particular artist. Remy Shand is at his best when he keeps the tempo slow on songs like "I Met Your Mercy", "Everlasting", "The Second One", "The Colour Of Day" and "Looking Back On Vanity". The whole CD flows into one long song. It allows you to sit back and relax with a room full of candles and that special someone. It's hard to categorize Remy's sound. Most people would say Neo Soul but as reviewer "Deldrick" stated it's just good r&b, soul music. You may look at Remy and say to yourself, no this can't be, but as the famous saying says never judge a book by its cover. Take a message from the Musicman and go get Remy Shand. It's well worth your time and money.

James' Top 5

1) Burning Bridges
2) Take A Message
3) I Met Your Mercy
4) Everlasting
5) The Colour Of Day

Hold on just a minute... This guy is white? And he's only 23? And he's from Canada? And he writes his own lyrics? And he plays all of the instruments on all of his songs? And they songs are actually replayable? The answer to all of these is "yes". I bought this album on a whim because people were talking about it. And I hardly ever buy albums that I hadn't heard at least one song from. Eerily, I went into Sam Goody with the intent to buy "The Way I Feel" and I heard "Take A Message" playing (not knowing it was Remy) and I loved the song immediately. It was a coincidence that when I got home, that particular song was on the album that I had just bought. I have a great amount of respect for people that play their own instruments, especially if they play them well. Remy Shand is a musical genius and the guy just turned old enough to drink a couple years ago. All of those guitar licks you'll hear are original (check out the breakdown on "Mind's Eye"). Granted, he's not the best singer in the world, but considering that his background music sounds like a full backing band, it's hard to dismiss this album. "The Way I Feel" is a conglomeration of r&b, rock, and smooth jazz with an overall 70s feel, making "T.W.I.F." a versatile album. I don't know if I would call it neo-soul however. Right away, I could hear several different artists all over the album (even at different points in the songs)- Maxwell, Jamiroquai, Lenny Kravitz, Al Green, Prince, D'Angelo, and even a little Kool & The Gang (with the use of the synthesizer used in "Summer Madness"). I thought the title track was worth the price of admission alone. As far as Remy's voice goes, he changes styles, which is cool, but his tenor could use just a little work. I love the falsetto. Besides that, I don't see why this shouldn't be in anyone's collection.

One look at Remy Shand's debut album "The Way I Feel", and you may think you have stumbled on another white rapper, or perhaps another young blues phenom playing in the big leagues. One listen, however, and you may think you have found a 70's soul release by an icon you never knew existed. That is, if you are familiar with classic soul. That seems to be the dilemma facing Canada's Remy Shand. His masterpiece is delivered to an audience mostly too young to realize what an awesome accomplishment it really is. Kids into today's highly oversaturated R&B haven't had the pleasure of loving Marvin Gaye , Al Green, Billy Preston, etc.
To those of you who have, and have been missing the soulfullness of soul that has been largely absent for years in popular music, this is your album. This is your chance to quench your thirst with REAL SOUL. From the lush, swirling title track, to the hard-edged "Liberate", to the album's mind-blowing guitar vs. Fender Rhodes closer "The Mind's Eye", this is as real as it gets. And it's all Remy Shand's vision. He wrote, produced, mixed, arranged and performed every instrument on every song on the album. No sterile computer programmed content, just real music with real instruments. Musicians especially will appreciate these nuances. It's an album for guitarists, vocalists, keyboardists in love with the vintage sounds of the Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Wurlitzer, Moog, and Hammond, and it's a lesson for record makers and producers on "in the pocket" songcraft. Remarkably, the 23 year old Shand did it all at home in Winnipeg with only his deep love and appreciation for the music serving as his driving force. No image to live up to here. Some younger listener's may be put off at first by it's warm earthy sound instead of booty-shakin' bass and over ornamented vocals, but there are enough grooves included that it should be given a chance in their stereos. And for the others who wished Marvin had made another album, or that everyone from Stevie Wonder to Steely Dan made a compilation at their very prime, then by all means, pick up this album. If this album had been released in 1976 we would remember the name Remy Shand and would view his album as a cornerstone of 70's soul, right alongside his idols. But in 2003 and beyond, it's even better, and even more welcome in an era of plastic pop and processed R&B. No fan of music should be without this record.

Upon first listening to The Way I Feel, I immediately blew Remy Shand off as a watered-down Marvin Gaye/Maxwell knockoff (breezy falsetto, wah-wah guitars, deep funk basslines, mellow groove). But after the second listen, I have since reconsidered my initial thought, and now say that Remy Shand...is FOR REAL...and sorely needed, given the current lackluster R&B scene.
And I welcome him with open arms and ears. I can't stop listening to it. Songs like "The Mind's Eye", "Take A Message", "Everlasting", and "Looking Back On Vanity" show Shand's knack for concocting playful yet pulsating smooth grooves, while "Burning Bridges" is an undeniable head-nodder riding a hypnotic bassline like a 2am hot July spin through metropolis jungles with the windows down and the "wild things" are howling lovely...
There is room for improvement, however, in that his slower songs, "I Met Your Mercy" and "The Colour Of Day" lack the same intensity and passion of of the rest of the album.
Comparisons to Marvin, Curtis Mayfield, Maxwell, and D'Angelo are expected. But overall, The Way I Feel is a pleasant addition to the Neo-Soul Train line.

Remy Shand, thank you for bringing white Canadian soul into my life. At the ripe age of 23, you were signed to Motown - the first for a Canadian really. You were nominated for 4 Grammy's (including Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album) alongside your present day contemporaries - Usher, Musiq, Raphael Saadiq, R. Kelly - soon to be greats - Erykah Badu and India.Arie - and former greats, Chaka Khan, The Funk Brothers, The Temptations, and Luther Vandross. Back up north you were nominated for 4 Juno's - Producer, Songwriter, Artist, and R&B Recording of the year - only winning the latter. Not bad for an album that hasn't even went gold and songs that have received little airplay or videoplay. And while the undeserving overhyped Cody Chestnutt is getting the attention from the Roots and MTV, how Remy Shand is going ignored by the public is beyond me.

The Way I Feel is Shand's debut album and one so well-crafted you'd swear he was into the later decades of his career. I've joked with friends that the only thing Remy didn't do on this disc is take the picture of himself for the cover and I'm not wholly unconvinced he didn't do the five-second timer routine. Truth is the only thing he didnt do was play sax on one song (though he played them, alto, tenor & baritone, on all the others) showing off his prodigal mastery by playing all the other instruments, writing, producing, engineering, recording, mixing, etc... A pretty gutsy move by a record company for a debut album by a new artist. The Way I Feel harkens back to the R&B/soul albums of old back when making love was an event, It wasnt just an action or a commercial commodity. He sticks to the traditional soul instruments, that have almost come to define today's neo-soul sound, employing both Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, Hammond organs, clavinets, moogs, and analog synthesizers. His voice is as smooth and silky as Marvin Gaye's hitting the high notes without getting into that annoying level of falsetto that so many performers can't achieve today. The lyrics aren't garbage either as one listening to the relationship ending "Burning Bridges" and "I Met Your Mercy" can attest to.

The title track opens up the album with a bit of synth-eliciousness and drums that sounds a little tribal, a little electronic. Not to mention he's inventive enough to sprinkle it with a little glockenspiel and the sounds of seagulls near the end. "Burning Bridges" starts out as a candle-burner of a song with just Remy and his piano before kicking in with a fuller sound of funk guitars and the drum set, while maintaining the slow burn pace. The opening to "Take A Message" has always sounded a little like Air to me. The way he sings "I'm gonna liberate my soul / So don't pacify my role and my right, and my right / Ooh I've got to take control / As the future will unfold and take flight, and take flight" on "Liberate," you're not quite sure if he's singing about political freedoms or certain dirtier ones. One remarkable thing about Remy Shand is that his songs are pretty instantly singable and nearly impossible to listen to without grooving a bit (even if you're sitting in your office chair, like I am now). Overall, The Way I Feel flows artfully from one track to the next while possessing a warmth to it that so many of today's R&B, soul, and even neo-soul, albums are lacking. It's this intimacy that makes The Way I Feel stand out amongst its peers; it's those moments where it transcends into love.

Saw Remy Shand on the Leno show and was mesmorized. He is a highly talented musician/writer. I think the variety of sounds on this CD are great, my hope is that his music can break through the sterotypes and grow. He is young so I expect great things to come.

An internet associate recommended Remy Shand, whom I had never heard of. Then my neighbor asked me if I had the new Remy Shand, so I thought maybe this cat was worth checkin' out and he is. His music and vocal stylings are very reminiscent of several artists: Maxwell, Lenny Kravitz, Marvin Gaye, and a touch of Al Green. Remy's falsetto is smooth and very easy on the ears.

My favorite tracks are The Way I Feel, which is very Maxwellish and has a tight laid back groove to it. The Colour of Day has an organ that I'm sure Al Green would appreciate. Take A Message has that Lenny Kravitz vibe, and Looking Back on Vanity, which is my fave, and The Mind's Eye which has a 70's ambrosia.

I appreciate the quality of the music and lyrics on this cd. No booty call lyrics on this one, thank God. If you're looking for songs w/depth and nice laid back grooves Remy Shand's "The Way I Feel" has it. Thank you Remy for a cd of substance.

First-thing-first.......take the CD, look at the front cover turn it sideways and read the message: "written, produced, arranged, performed, and mixed by remy shand"....... that in itself should give this canadian his props for such a dynamic CD. I personally think ALL OF YOU are taken the term NEO to an extreme when it comes to new artist who aren't R&B. Hey....this is a great soul album.......PERIOD. Label it how ever you want, Remy put his soul into this. I honestly couldn't compare this to anyone from the past 10 years of soul music. Remy took this back to the era of good soulful, meaningful music and I just gotta give it to'em for that. Put him in with Lewis Taylor from the UK, another white soul artist I'm really diggin.

Favorite gems: "the way I feel", "take a message", "the mind's eye", "liberate", "burning bridges" and "the 2nd one"

standout gem: "rocksteady"

oNe

I read Amazon.com's Editorial Review by Christina Restrepo and perhaps she was a music major and knows a weak voice from a strong one....all I know is Shand has to be a musical genious. His talents surpass any review that would give this cd anything less than five stars....but hey, that's just my opinion.
The music is soothing to the soul and the lyrics will have you really thinking about what's going on. He appears to be young, but his music reflects wisdom. His creativity in the instruments used delivers "sweets for the ear." He also wrote and produced every song.He also played every instrumenton the cd with the exception of one cut. Multi-talented like a Stevie Wonder and Prince. I will agree with the editorial though, his voice can be almost mistaken with Maxwell's and there are similar pitches familiar to D'Angelo, (both artists I like), but Remy is in his own when it comes to his depthness in his lyrics.

I've had this CD for about a week or two and it's my current favorite. I could listen to this CD the whole way through a couple times a day. Its makes me want to sit back, chill, and listen on some good surround sound. I'm not a R&B expert, but in his songs Remy Shand covers some ground in the R&B area...from rock to smooth and in between. This guy has some serious talent considering he did most or all of the production of this album. I didn't give it five stars because I don't think it will be a classic of all time in the area of music, but it sure will be a classic in my collection.

Favorites are:
"Way I Feel", "Take A Message", "Rocksteady", "Liberate", "I Met Your Mercy", "The Mind's Eye".

In these days of downloading music, there are very few CDs that I will buy from the stores. But I'd have to say that I made an exception for Remy Shand.