Juslisen [EXTRA TRACKS]

Musiq (Soulchild)

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 7, 2002)
• Original Release Date: May 7, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Def Soul Classics
• ASIN: B000065CJI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (155 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,868 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Intro

2. Newness

3. Caughtup

4. Stopplayin

5. Religious

6. Babygirl

7. Halfcrazy

8. Time

9. Future

10. Reallove

11. Onenight

12. Previouscats

13. Solong

14. Bestfriend

15. Dontchange

16. Motherfather

17. Something

18. If I Woulda Knew (Bonus Track)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The second album from Philadelphia's Musiq keeps the quality level high, mixing equal parts Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, and D'Angelo to good effect. Musiq's voice has noticeably matured--the puppy edge of Aijuswanaseing is gone--resulting in a rich tone that reflects a stylistic progression in his music. He's also expanded into new areas, including a slight touch of bossa nova on the excellent "Half Crazy." Meanwhile, "Caught Up" and "Religious" have a late-'80s Big Daddy Kane and Public Enemy feel, heralding a tougher hip-hop sound than the spangle-eyed, jelly-kneed love paeans Musiq included on the first album (such as "Girl Next Door" and "143"). Having said that, Aijuswanaseing remains the essential Musiq starting point, as there's little here that matches the genius of "Speechless" or "You Be Alright." But for those who want to hear the sound of an artist growing up, Juslisen is required listening. --Jake Barnes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Don't Change", "Time" and a whole lot more......., May 14, 2002

By	J. Highsmith (Mitchellville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Musiq Soulchild was introduced to everyone on the Rush Hour 1 soundtrack with his summer jam "Just Friends" (Sunny). Of course this song reminded enough people of D'Angelo, but the artist from Philly had his own touch to the song as well. His solo debut, "Aijuswanaseing" was a nice debut CD. The second single, "Love" is what made a lot of people buy this CD, but overall you still have a good collection of songs on there, from "Girl Next Door", "Mary Go Round", "143", "My Girl", "Settle For My Love" w/Ayana from the group Aaries, and "You And Me". I was reading an article on Musiq and he said that although the response for his first CD is a good one, that he didn't put as much effort into his debut and that he would do so on his 2nd disc. I can tell you now that he lived up to what he was saying. "Juslisen" (Just Listen) takes place where his debut CD left off. There are definitely more uptempo songs on this CD, but his fans will still be satisfied with the results. The 1st single, "Half Crazy", is on the radio everywhere and his video is in heavy rotation on BET and MTV. The song is about a platonic friend that he has known for awhile and things go to another level. Once they go beyond a platonic friendship, the friendship isn't the way that it used to be and Musiq just wants things to go back to the way that they were. It is a very nice slow jam. The CD gets started with my favrite uptempo song, "Newness". This song is about a woman that Musiq has just met and how he wants to get to know her. The subject matter was covered on "Just Friends" but the overall presentation of the song is definitely a winner. "Caught Up" is the sequel to the song "Seventeen" from his debut. The young woman is two years older now and it is hard for Musiq to hold back like he did on "Seventeen". The group Aaries adds their vocals to the song as well. The best moments on Musiq's new CD is when he sticks to the "Love" formula. Two songs fit this criteria almost perfectly. "Don't Change" and "Time" are clearly the best two songs on this CD. The best moments on his debut, in my opinion, were the slow jams. "Time" will remind a lot of people of "Love". That may be the only reason why someone may not like this track. He employs a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it mentality" but I am sure his fans will still enjoy the song. "Don't Change" is purely a nice love jam. Musiq says in so many words that as long as your love doesn't change we will always be together. Other noteworthy songs are "Babygirl", "Onenight", "Stoplayin", "Future", "Previouscats", "Bestfriend" w/Carol Riddick and "Religious" where he uses the same sample that Heavy D did in his classic "Gyrlz They Love Me" song. Overall, you have a nice 2nd disc from Musiq. There are more uptempo songs but that shouldn't prevent you from not wanting to "Juslisen" (Just Listen).

James' Top 5

1. Don't Change
2. Time
3. Newness
4. Half Crazy
5. Stoplayin

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GRADE: B+, June 27, 2002

By	Knyte "To The Stars" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

Musiq has definitely stepped up his vocal game since 'Aijuswanaseing'. In my humble view, Musiq seems to have that "little engine that could" quality that makes him instantly likeable. When I got a chance to hear Musiq perform live (opening for Erykah Badu), you could literally see and hear the effort he was putting into his (still developing) stage presence and vocal ability, and now we're finally geting a chance to hear even more of his musical growth (and experimentation) on Juslisen. Now I'll attempt to elaborate:

After a warm, neo-soul style introduction, we're off into "Newness", a song that is similar in vibe to the material found on 'Aijuswanaseing', except it sounds less organic, and even more polished. "Newness" (to me) is a pure and honest head-nodder that a lot of us can probably relate to in everyday life. "Everything is cool", Musiq sings, "when love is all brand new, you're learning me, and I'm learning you..."

Next up is "Caught Up", an early favorite of mine, and the first of the two funk-jazzified, cane-swinging tracks on 'Juslisen'. "Stoplayin" has a very similar beat to Michael Jackson's "Butterflies", and is one of the stronger cuts on the album. But it's "Religious" (funk-jazzified, cane-swinging track #2) that is my favorite uptempo song on the album. I LOVE this song; it employs the very same sample that Heavy D mined in 1988 for "Gyrlz They Love Me" (anyone remember that one?). Employing a church organ and similarly themed lyrics, "Religious" marks a new (and confident) approach for Musiq, and I think he pulls it off beautifully -- a definite single in my opinion.

"Babygirl" is a simply decent (and relaxing) midtempo that I could learn to love. "Halfcrazy" is the album's first single, and what I like about this song is the unresolved tension I feel the lyrics (and musical accompaniment) communicate. "Time" is a 6/8 time ballad with a melodic feel that vaguely reminds me of the late, great (and ahem, real Princess of R&B) Aaliyah's "I Care 4 U". Next up is "Future", a track that is another just okay/filler track (in my opinion) that I'm sure someone else out there actually likes...

After a moderately funky intermission, the 'Juslisen' experience picks up again with "Realove", one of Musiq's best songs yet (to me). Thematically, it deals with a woman who has turned bitter after a negative experience with love, and while the subject matter isn't exactly revolutionary, it's a very real phenomenon for much of Musiq's audience...and the sonic vibe of the song (which plods along a la 'Just Friends (Sunny)' with a hypnotic DJ Premier-like edge) just works really well for me.

But it's "Onenight" that I consider a real winner (Musiq's biggest experiment here), as he channels the late (great!) Marvin Gaye's warm, tender, and textured musicality in this impressive work of emotional, neo-soul balladry, this is my favorite 'non-radio' track on 'Juslisen', and would love to see this song performed live. "Previouscats" is the most traditionally "modern R&B" song I've ever heard Musiq perform, and it seems to be begging for a contribution by Mary J. Blige; her passionate vibe has somehow found itself embedded into this song.

"Solong" is a decidedly different turn (singing in a deeper voice than usual) for Musiq that provides a pleasant, midtempo segue into "Bestfriend", a lyrically (and musically) interesting duet with newcomer Carol Riddick that is definitely a highlight of the album. "Dontchange" (the 2nd single from 'Juslisen' and deservedly so) will probably become the biggest slow jam (or song, period) from this album, and could very well end up a career-defining hit for Musiq a la K-Ci and JoJo's "All My Life"...

"Motherfather" is a traditional-sounding, gospel flavored tribute from Musiq to his parents, and anyone listening closely to the lyrics can appreciate his sincerity on this track. Musiq's cover of "Something" by the Beatles is nice, but plays it too safe for me to really like it; he doesn't "own" the song the way I wish he would have. "Ifiwouldaknew (Girlnextdoor remix)" uses the same Debarge "Stay With Me" sample as Ashanti's "Foolish", and the late (great!) B.I.G.'s "One More Chance"; I think I can safely speak for most urban music fans when I say I'm sick of that sample...

Overall I'm definitely impressed with 'Juslisen', but at over 75 minutes I feel some tracks could have been left off. This is in stunning contrast to my feelings about'Aijuswanaseing' (which is a much more concise album). I wouldn't pass up 'Juslisen' if you are a fan of organic singer-songwriting styles in R&B (aka neo-soul), or even if you're into recording artists like Usher, Ginuwine, or even Faith Evans because Musiq seems to be wanting to court those fans as well with his newer, more "polished" look and sound. Grade: B+

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In this case....TWO is the charm!!, August 20, 2002

By	Glenn Hadley, Jr. (Newport News, Virginia) - See all my reviews

On his first album, Musiq Soulchild provided listeners with a brand new vibe that we had really never heard before from modern R&B artists -- a vibe that other artists, such as India Arie, were able to be inspired and motivated by as time went on. Such singles as "Love" touched our hearts and made us think back to a special moment in the past when we were in love, and could agree with every word Musiq beautifully worded through his lyrics. "Juslisen" is no different. This album has a similar flow as his first one, talking about life, childhood, and the effect that relationships on peoples' lives, and how decisions made in a relationship can definitely change the relationship all together. BUT THE BEST TRACK, to me, ON HIS ALBUM is: "Dontchange". This song is the most beautiful R&B song I have heard in a while. The overall message is: No matter what time does to a person physically, the love will never change and it'll only grow stronger. Other tracks like "Religious" get you up and moving to the beat! "Half-Crazy" was his first single, and many might think that was the peak of his CD and all else is downhill.....well, YOU ARE WRONG!! Go out right now...don't burn this CD from your boy, or your best friend's sister's boyfriend's cousin's baby mama. NO! NO! Go...scrap up your change, and go buy this CD, because this is a definite MUST-HAVE for your collection -- no matter how skeptical you are!