Yes Its You

Sweet Charles - The Orginal Rare Groove Selection

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Yes It’s You by Sweet Charles

What I want to know is how anyone could write, produce and record a song that is so mind-blowingly brilliant, and then end up with it being so astonishingly difficult to track down in the early 21st Century. What the hell happened?

Still, love this. Wow.

Albums of the Year Number 6: The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe When you buy this album on iTunes (which you should, now), you’ll notice that it’s categorised as ‘R&B/Soul’. Although this isn’t an entirely unfair decision, it fails to cover the astonishing array of genres Monáe leaps through as the album progresses. Starting with a short classical track, the album explores soul and R&B with panache, but also has some distinctly indie tones, oodles of hip-hop (her collaboration with Big Boi on Tightrope being a particular moment of genius) but there are also of rock, dance, jazz, funk, indeed pretty much any genre you can think of is here at some point. Which you might think would lead to a disjointed, or at least rather difficult album, but instead it’s a delight to listen to because each track has an unabashed pop sensibility. It reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson’s albums at their peak for the way Monáe picks and chooses from a huge range of music’s history and yet ends up with something eminently listenable. Anyone who can create this, as a debut album, at 25, is going to be one to watch for the future. In the meantime, there’s enough in this album to keep me intrigued and listening for a couple of years. Spotify Link

Albums of the Year

Number 6: The ArchAndroid by Janelle Monáe

When you buy this album on iTunes (which you should, now), you’ll notice that it’s categorised as ‘R&B/Soul’. Although this isn’t an entirely unfair decision, it fails to cover the astonishing array of genres Monáe leaps through as the album progresses. Starting with a short classical track, the album explores soul and R&B with panache, but also has some distinctly indie tones, oodles of hip-hop (her collaboration with Big Boi on Tightrope being a particular moment of genius) but there are also of rock, dance, jazz, funk, indeed pretty much any genre you can think of is here at some point.

Which you might think would lead to a disjointed, or at least rather difficult album, but instead it’s a delight to listen to because each track has an unabashed pop sensibility. It reminds me a lot of Michael Jackson’s albums at their peak for the way Monáe picks and chooses from a huge range of music’s history and yet ends up with something eminently listenable.

Anyone who can create this, as a debut album, at 25, is going to be one to watch for the future. In the meantime, there’s enough in this album to keep me intrigued and listening for a couple of years.

Spotify Link

Albums of the Year Number 8: The Defamation of Strickland Banks by Plan B Concept albums are a tricky business. It’s hard enough at the best of times to make one that doesn’t make you sound utterly pretentious. When you add into that the idea you’re making a Motown-infused album about a man falsely accused of rape, I think most people would have suggested to Ben Drew that it might be worth barking up some other tree. But this album not only works, it’s great. Drew has a beautiful, soulful voice and one that we didn’t hear much of on his first album. At its highest register his voice sounds so close to cracking that it provides a real sense of emotion. The songwriting is so solid and polished that the final result sounds more like a best-of singles collection from a band with quite a considerable career. That said, it doesn’t feel disjointed, the concept flows remarkably well and never feels forced. I have a lot of favourites but if I was forced to pick a couple of tracks, both Writing’s On The Wall and Prayin’ are excellent, and the latter also has a great video. Next year’s The Ballad of Belmarsh is apparently going to fill in the gaps in the story. I for one can’t wait to hear it. Spotify Link

Albums of the Year

Number 8: The Defamation of Strickland Banks by Plan B

Concept albums are a tricky business. It’s hard enough at the best of times to make one that doesn’t make you sound utterly pretentious. When you add into that the idea you’re making a Motown-infused album about a man falsely accused of rape, I think most people would have suggested to Ben Drew that it might be worth barking up some other tree.

But this album not only works, it’s great. Drew has a beautiful, soulful voice and one that we didn’t hear much of on his first album. At its highest register his voice sounds so close to cracking that it provides a real sense of emotion. The songwriting is so solid and polished that the final result sounds more like a best-of singles collection from a band with quite a considerable career. That said, it doesn’t feel disjointed, the concept flows remarkably well and never feels forced.

I have a lot of favourites but if I was forced to pick a couple of tracks, both Writing’s On The Wall and Prayin’ are excellent, and the latter also has a great video. Next year’s The Ballad of Belmarsh is apparently going to fill in the gaps in the story. I for one can’t wait to hear it.

Spotify Link