Solange Knowles - The Eccentric Younger Sister Of The Queen B Herself, Presents Us With Her Motown Inspired Sophomore Effort - Sol-Angel And The Hadley St. Dreams. People Say "Genius & Insanity Lie Not Far Apart", Let's Find Out Which Side Of The Picket Fence Solange Sits With My Review.
Welcome To Hadley Street.
Track Listing
- God Given Name
- T.O.N.Y.
- Dancing in the Dark
- Would've Been the One
- Sandcastle Disco
- I Decided, Part 1
- Valentine's Day
- 6 O'Clock Blues
- Ode to Marvin
- I Told You So
- Cosmic Journey
- This Bird
- I Decided, Part 2
- ChampagneChroniKnightCap
(US version also contains "White Picket Dreams")IntroductionOne of my main goals that I hoped to achieve from listening to this album was to determine
which I liked best, Beyonce or Solange. Their sounds are very different, & I am one of the few Bloggers of the world who seem to actually think Beyonce is talented, so we will decide towards the end.
I was frankly not aware of Solange's music before I heard 'I Decided', as her first album received such poor reviews that I had no intention of listening to it. I remember hearing a story that Matthew Knowles told at a '
Hadley St' listening party about
Solange breaking all of Beyonce's trophies that she won at talent competitions. Secondly I was aware that Solange married, divorced & had a child at a very young age, this seems like an act of rebellion to me & pointed towards her
being somewhat 'unstable'.Given this image & the poor ratings of her début album, I was expected a spoilt, jealous child with no talent to speak of, but I was in for a surprise.
The MusicFrom day one it has become apparent that although Solange appreciates the opportunity that being Beyonce's sister offers, she is set on
distancing herself from her big sis. This is made very clear from the offset, she chooses to tell us straight:
"I'm Not Her, & Never Will Be", she states that Knowles is just her
"God Given Name".
Her difference from her sister is made evident by the end of the first track when she pleads that
her sound is natural, shouting
"I Promise I'm Not High" doesn't really seem like the slick, Beyonce way of doing things.
The album continues with promise, the rhythmic feel & old school musical arrangements of 'T.O.N.Y' definitely show
remnants of that 60's Motown vibe that the album continues to provide. Production continues to remain strong for the duration of the record, there are no Club Bangers to be found here, but they are unnecessary.
Beats come courtesy of big & small producers,
The Neptunes produced 'I Decided' offers the most lively cut from the album, the UK's finest, The Freemasons up the tempo for 'Part 2' of the same track. Jack Splash, a relative unknown in my eyes, brings an authentic old time sound to 'Ode To Marvin', the Motown tribute on the album. While
the shining beacon in my opinion comes from Soulshock & Karlin, with their truly inspired sound of Cosmic Journey.
My genuine enjoyment come from the up tempo, slightly camp tracks
(should I be admitting this?), including both the single choices, 'I Decided' & 'Sandcastle Disco', the latter offers us a mind set of Solange.
Her fragility becomes apparent when she pleads;
"Don't Blow Me Away", I think this is a rarity in the strong female singing world, I remember Beyonce telling us to
"Ring The Alarm" because she was going to kill us for cheating on her!
While there is a lot or originality & a lot of good stuff, there is also the flaws, the off putting arrangements of 'Valentines Day' made me want to
hit the skip button on more than one occasion. Also, while I really wanted to love 'Ode To Marvin' for it's tribute qualities, I just couldn't ignore the fact that it shout FILLER at me, very loudly. Another snore was The Mark Ronson produced '6 O'clock Blues', which
felt like something that Amy Winehouse turned down.
Every great album has it's shining light & without a shadow of a doubt, 'Hadley St' hits it's pinnacle with 'Cosmic Journey', it is honestly
one of the most interesting songs I have heard in an age. The amazing production starts with a haunting melody, sung with soft harmonies from Solange, it develops into an 'Electro Pulsing' beat which in turn explodes into a Dance inspired epic! This is an experiment that totally delivers in my eyes & it makes Solange stand out from the rather mundane R&B crowd that surrounds her... You need to hear this track to
fully understand just how fresh it is.
AnalysisWhen all is said & done, this album impressed me, it was far beyond my expectations of an artist that I personally thought was riding high on the merit of her sister's achievement.
Will this effort surpass Beyonce's mammoth career? A categorical no is the answer, Solange is in a different league, not to say she is better, or worse, but she is playing the game on a whole different playing field, in my eyes
there is no competition to be had.
I am totally ready to love Hadley St. Dreams, but I fear that I might be getting too carried aware. Yes it is
a throw back to an era of music that I adore, it is solid & it feels like Solange has had 100% creative input with the project.
However, this is not a masterpiece, the feel of the record gave me the same vibe as Amy Winehouse's last album but on a much smaller scale. Amy's efforts completed what was a modern day classic, while
Solange has just scratched the surface of the Soul/Jazz genre. At times I just felt the record was missing something, I could never put my finger on what, my brain tells me why this is a brilliant album, but my heart never catches on.
VerdictWell, we are back to my original questions, which side of the fence does Solange sit,
is she a mentalist or a genius? Maybe she is a bit of both, I think that if she can stay in this mindset & continue to be this creative within her music
she will achieve great critical acclaim. However I also think that the contrast between her first & second albums shows a degree of musical instability & could point to this album being somewhat of a fluke. Maybe she will change her style again & produce a mess of a third album. I reckon we will have to wait & see.
Who would I choose to listen to,
Beyonce or Solange?(I'd go for Alicia Keys, but that a different matter)
On a day to day basis, I think I would have to side with Queen B, her music is simply more entertaining, she can vocalise with the best of them, hit up a club banger & produce creative material. But if you asking
who I think is the more eclectic artist, if has to be Solange, her music has what this world of Rihanna's & Cassie's lack, soul!
******* - 7/10
