The Way I See It

I consider myself among those who are music lovers; always looking for something new and inspiring. Unfortunately, most new music falls alarmingly short of the mark. But, every once in a while we are treated to music that breaks barriers and forges new musical territory. These works renew our quest for new and exciting musical experiences. Some music brings back the to the present the greatness of the past and in turns earns accolades for itself. "As I See It" by Raphael Saadiq is such a work.

The disk is true to its roots from the "David Ruffinesque" cover and great musical content except for one song, "Oh Girl", featuring Jay-Z. It is a total clunker. Including this song on the disk is a total buzz kill compared to uplifting "Sure Hope You Mean It" and "Calling" a mournful song of unrequited love.

If you are old enough, listening to this disk will recall the days of The Temptations, The Miracles and the rest of the Motown group of stars. If not, you will soon understand why Motown was so popular and why this genre was known as "soul music". The music is melodic and the lyrics never fail to strike an emotional chord that you can identify with.

Raphael Saadiq has taken a tried and true form of music and brought it today's audience with the heart and soul of yesterday and the production and instrumentation of today. This is a great work of art that I hope will make its way into the public consciousness for many years to come.

I liked the album alot...i liked how his album was based on the motown sound.

I loved Instant Vintage and the variety of songs. This album has the same tone/pace. A little old schoolish mowtown feel. listened 2 it twice then put it on the shelf.

What a great tribute to the Motown sounds! This man really was inspired by all the wonderful tunes that came from all the phenominal artists of Detroit. He has written songs that evoke great memories of my growing up in the '60's. When I first heard LOVE THAT GIRL I thought it was a real oldie I just had never heard before. His duet with Joss Stone reminds me of Marvin and Tammi. I just have to give him point off for including Jay-Z on the last cut. I am not a rap fan, sorry. Maybe for his next CD he can tackle the Sounds of Philadelphia.

I will not say any more than this is the record of the year. Go out and allow some quality music into your life with this release. GO!!!!