It has now been THIRTEEN years since the release of Voodoo.
THIRTEEN YEARS.
D’Angelo’s third album has been “coming soon” or “almost finished” for at least half a decade now. Most recently, some short video footage surfaced (which you can see below) showing bassist extraordinaire Pino Palladino, D himself, and other musicians putting down overdubs in the studio. I have to admit that seeing this excites me (which it was, no doubt, designed to do.) It also frustrates me, because this album (is it still called James River?) is quickly turning into the Chinese Democracy of R&B.
A new D album would be an instant purchase for me, and, despite my better judgment, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed by the final product-whenever it shows up. Call it a gut feeling. Truthfully, I’m not as reverent towards Voodoo as most people are. I think it’s a bit messy and underdeveloped-but I respect where D’Angelo was trying to go, and it remains eminently listenable. That said, my expectations might be lower than the average D’Angelo fan’s, since plenty of folks hold Voodoo up as an unassailable classic.
At any rate–how awesome would it be to get new music from D’Angelo and Maxwell in the same year? If both of them are good, too? I will be dancing down the streets. Only thing that would make things better would be for Lauryn Hill to get her shit together and make a worthy follow up to Miseducation. Nah, that ain’t happenin’. Anyhow, check these videos out and cross your fingers in the hopes that it’s an indication of new music to come sooner rather than later.