Wines & Spirits

Rahsaan Patterson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Artistry Music
• ASIN: B000V8MR52
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,195 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

...Rahsaan Patterson remains the most gifted tenor in R&B, with a true gift for sophisticated musicianship. --Vibe

Product Description

Wines & Spirits showcases the evolution of an artist who crosses borders without fear. Nearly three years in the making, Wines & Spirits confirms why Rahsaan Patterson has influenced everyone from Van Hunt to Brandy.

From the fresh alternative dance beats of Delirium , to the retro-gospel shades of Oh Lord , to the infectious joy of Higher Love , Wines & Spirits is a revelation of new soul, and Rahsaan s testament of change, growth and human experience.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Something new and (excitingly) different, October 12, 2007

By 

Olukayode Balogun (Leeds, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wines & Spirits (Audio CD)

It would've been so easy for Rahsaan Patterson to make a run-of-the-mill neo-soul album, full of cosy ballads with smooth edges (he has the voice and the songwriting ability for it), and laden with "do me, do me, please, baby, please" lyrics but, (surprise, surprise and goody, goody), that's not what he's done.

I think the man has stepped to the left outside of his comfort zone and tries a couple of new tricks here. With a mix of soul, hip-hop and electronica & rock edged beats, he serves up an eclectic but cohesive set of very pleasing songs. "Delirium (Comes and Goes)", "No Danger", "Time" with a solid (but clean) rap by Johnny Onyx, are all very unusual but filled with foot tapping, head nodding excitement. The ballads are sweet too: "Feels Good", "Stop Breaking My Heart", and most especially, the closer track "Stars". Some of the tunes, like the spacey "Pitch Black" the stop-and-go "Deliver Me" might not be to everyone's taste but I find their very quirkiness is what makes them interesting.

One tune that I keep coming back to and playing over and over again though, is "Water", with its wonderful trumpet solo by Michael Hunter. I love it; the CD gets five stars from me for that song alone. Although Van Hunt - a man I have huge respect for - doesn't seem to be involved in this particular project, there are still traces of the man to be heard on "Oh Lord (Take Me Back)", another tune I'm really feeling. There are a variety of producers on this project, including Patterson himself, Jamey Jaz, Keith Crouch, SugaBeat Rush Company and Timothy Bailey, Jr and I think they've done a worthwhile job overall.

Most importantly though, the man actually SINGS! (Something that seems increasingly rare among black male singers in the 21st century).

Thanks, Rahsaan, for giving us something new and (excitingly) different.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basing this off of the samples, September 27, 2007

By 

D. Hughey "suffering from reader's block" (borings-town, AR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wines & Spirits (Audio CD)

Each sample had me moving. I think sometimes we get used to an artist sounding a certain way and we don't want them to change. I felt the same listening to Jill Scott's "hate on me". But you keep on listening. This cd is totally different for Rahsaan and I am actually totally feeling it.

Different can be good.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Superman of Soul, October 3, 2007

By 

esotErik "esotErik" (Tha District) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wines & Spirits (Audio CD)

Rahsaan Patterson's latest project, Wines & Spirits, is more musically diverse than any of his previous three studio LPs. With W&S, Rah manages to juxtapose his trademark brand of soulful r&b with genres that he is less associated: funk, rock, hip hop, and even flourishes of electronica. And although Rah capably weaves through disparate styles, it is the songs that boast his mastery of buttery "neo-soul" which remain his trump cards.

"Delirium (Comes & Goes)" is one of the more atypical kind of Rahsaan songs found here. A loungey, quasi-house beat, ala Peven Everett, lays the foundation as he scats and croons his way through this uptempo track.

Rah the Rock Star emerges on "Pitch Black". His cold, somewhat detached vocal delivery complements the omnipresent electric guitar and the corresponding undulating drum beat, effectively conveying the song's dour message of hopelessness.

Musically, "Cloud 9" & "Oh Lord (Take Me Back)" pay homage to 70s-era funkmeister Stevie Wonder. And because Rah's voice has always reminded me of a male version of Chaka Khan, such tunes would blend nicely into any Rufus album from the same timeframe.

The hip hop-influenced "Time" provides the album's only cringe-worthy moments when the featured rapper Johnny Onyx spits embarrassingly puerile lyrics over an otherwise decent track.

Meanwhile, "Feels Good" is the comparison-worthy, yet more subdued musical cousin to the joyous "You Make Life So Good" from 2004's After Hours.

But my favorite tracks on this project are the ones that allow Rah to stay in his musical comfort zone: "No Danger", first single "Stop Breaking My Heart", and especially "Water". All three songs will surely become classics amongst Rah's ever-growing repertoire. Like many of his other fan faves (i.e., "My Sweetheart", "It's Alright", and the aforementioned "You Make Life So Good"), all three stellar songs effortlessly evoke raw emotion the way only great songs can do.

And "Stars", an observation on the fickle state of the music industry & its players, commences sparsely, but crescendos into an album-closer that is hardly anti-climactic.

The beauty of W&S is not that it showcases Rah as a supremely gifted soul singer (which he had already proven with his debut); it is that it establishes him as a legitimate, relevant artist, able to satisfyingly leap musical genres in a single bound.