The Headphone Masterpiece

Cody Chesnutt

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 21, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Ready Set Go
• ASIN: B00007MI2A
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,765 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
When you put the word "masterpiece" in the title of your debut double CD, you'd damn well better be able to back it up. Thankfully, Cody Chesnutt has the goods. This precocious, sex-obsessed, spaced-out, spiritual singer is practically bursting at the seams with talent and ideas. With The Headphone Masterpiece, he delivers a homemade, lo-fi stew made of smooth funk, forceful rock, and gritty hip-hop, all topped off by the sweet-crooning voice of a great soul singer. Across 36 tracks, Chesnutt invites you into his psyche, and it's a unique journey to say the least, wending as it does from the weightiest of spiritual concerns to that morning's hard-on. So is it a masterpiece? Well, not quite. Even Mr. Chesnutt must believe that he's got better music still in him. But The Headphone Masterpiece is an ambitious opening salvo from an artist who may well take his place in the celebrated lineage that extends from Hendrix and Sly Stone through George Clinton, Prince, D'Angelo, and so on. Once he learns to harness his surging electricity, Chesnutt may offer us a true masterpiece--or even a few of them. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring Bedroom and Basement Musicians Everywhere, December 24, 2002

By	Austin Davidson "Music Lover" (Ventura, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cody ChesnuTT plays a little bit of everything. He does a little rock, a little soul, some funk some folk some hip hop. ?uestlove of The Roots described him as Tracy Chapman meets Beck on acid. The album was produced entirely in his bedroom, which he dubbed The Sonic Promiseland. This is one of the best albums of the year and Cody should be well on his way to superstardom, but what do I know about the fickle world of pop music? What I do know is that this is raw, catchy, homemade music. My favorites are The Seed (the true highlight of the album, sort of a Ric James style '80s funk song) Look Good In Leather (a '60s soul pop song) Boylife In America (Prince and Bob Dylan) and so many other on this 36 song introduction to Cody. Some songs run only 30 seconds and you think, well he should have worked more on this song it's unfinished, but I believe the charm is in the brevity. This album inspires me to no end mostly because Cody did it all himself in his bedroom on his own terms and he's selling it through his own label. He truly is punk rock, and I think maybe this sort of music coming from kid's attics and bedrooms and basements and garages is definitly the next wave in music because nothing can hinder the music, it's all DIY.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A diamond that needs a good deal of polishing., March 19, 2003

By	Justin Skiftenes (Chicago, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

Cody Chesnut's debut, as a growing majority of people seem to agree, holds a great deal of promise. The chords, rifs, and lyrics on many of the tunes are original, funny, and nice to listen to. What Mr. Chesnutt needs more than anything right now is a producer and a drummer. Many of the songs have a beat that was clearly generated from a $500 keyboard. Some people may find this to be kitchy or indie, I find it to be amateur. He would also benefit from recording in a professional studio. Many of the tracks feature a hiss or that whole "I want the song to sound like an old record crackling effect" that is tired, played out, and again amateur. After putting out his song "The Seed", The Roots rerecorded it with him, and the difference is amazing. I anxiously await his next album.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it IS a headphone masterpiece, April 5, 2003

By	Nick (Louisville, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This is definately one of the most ambitious albums of the new decade,... even the past few. Forget everything about song structure you thought you knew and listen to this Cd with an open mind. Stretching across 2 CD's and 39 Tracks, this CD has everything with songs of all kinds of lenghts, crossing more genres than any artist in a long time has. Some songs are a mere minute in length, but even still pack a punch with a great hook and melody, and thats hard to do. Funny improv and even sound checks are on this CD... mainly to give you that raw, lo-fi feel. It doesnt sound polished, and what i dont get is why all of these reviewers think its a bad thing. Its mainly what seperates him from his peers such as Lenny Kravitz, Ben Harper, hell, even such rappers as Talib Kweli and Blackalicious. The CD has an unorganized feel to it, an amateur feel. Its so very refreshing once it grows on you. You must have an open mind to appreciate this genre-bending album. It crosses reggae, rap/hiphop, blues, classic rock, alternative, folk, EVERYTHING, and im not kidding. Do yourself a favor and support this artist with a very promising future. People are going to be talking about this headphone masterpiece 10 years from now.