Stay cool motherfuckers y'all know the rules: The Roots

[VinylGuy]

Is there a better r&b band than this one? Im still crazy with Undun.

[Kevin Davis]

Are The Roots an R&B band?

"How I Got Over" is my favorite record of theirs.

[VinylGuy]

Are The Roots an R&B band?

"How I Got Over" is my favorite record of theirs.

Not in the classic way, but i like to see them as one. They could be a jazz band for all i know.

[McParadigm]

Do You Want More???
Things Fall Apart
Phrenology



Amazing records.

After Phren, I get choosier about em. But Game Theory and Tipping Point both had some real highlights, and Rising Down had Criminal.

Edit: I should note that I haven't gotten around to Undun yet.

[Kevin Davis]

I'm not crazy about their earlier, jazzier albums--rap of that ilk seldom does much for me, it just feels too self-consciously caught up in its own history. Embracing some of the more commercial elements of the genre afforded them a tighter grip on their craft, I think. "Things Fall Apart" is where things really get interesting for me, but I think it gets better still; to my ears, "How I Got Over" and "Undun" are their two strongest records.

[The Big So-So]

I really love The Tipping Point. I know a lot of critics dismiss it as too conventional, but it's got some of my favorite Black Thought performances, especially on "Boom!" and "Web."

[Gods' Die]

I'm not crazy about their earlier, jazzier albums--rap of that ilk seldom does much for me, it just feels too self-consciously caught up in its own history. Embracing some of the more commercial elements of the genre afforded them a tighter grip on their craft, I think. "Things Fall Apart" is where things really get interesting for me, but I think it gets better still; to my ears, "How I Got Over" and "Undun" are their two strongest records.

I agree completely. I've always wondered if these guys were one of the bands where you fall for something like Undun and then join the "hardcores" and realize it's nowhere near as good as their denser, less commercial shit. I'm probably not even well-versed enough to make that call yet either way.

[McParadigm]

I'm not crazy about their earlier, jazzier albums--rap of that ilk seldom does much for me, it just feels too self-consciously caught up in its own history. Embracing some of the more commercial elements of the genre afforded them a tighter grip on their craft, I think. "Things Fall Apart" is where things really get interesting for me, but I think it gets better still; to my ears, "How I Got Over" and "Undun" are their two strongest records.

I don't agree with this at all. The later records are quite a bit more consistently immediate and melodic, and the band have gotten pretty good at using the recording process to capture and manipulate mood. These are really, really good records. But at the end of the day the benefit of streamlining is streamlining, and the price of streamlining is streamlining. Undun is a fantastic work that wants, and actively tries, to be like its heroes. From Are You Ready through Phrenology they were producing increasingly eccentric and occasionally surrealist works in a genre that could use a lot more 'Do whatever the fuck I want' attitude in it, and that lends a romance to the era.

I also wonder how much the loss of Scott Storch has to do with the changes that occurred after the millenium. The drums get a lot of love, but the keyboards have at times been THE component that puts this band over.

Anyway, the artistic growth during that period is fantastic.

[VinylGuy]

Great post!! ill be checking those vids now..its been a while since i heard some of those songs...im just too in love with Undun.

[Kevin Davis]

I got into the Roots with "Phrenology," which is probably both their strangest album and the crossroads of their career, at once their last record that sounds like the work of a wonky, forward-thinking arts collective and their first that sounds like a Black Thought solo album with the best band in the world as his backing ensemble. To my mind, the former category seems like it ought to be almost invariably more interesting, but to my ears the music just doesn't bear it out. Black Thought's writing has become tighter and more lucid, and his flow grittier and more commanding***; their songwriting has been served well by the discipline of more conventional pop forms, as well as their decreased reluctance to build their songs around familiar samples; a larger budget has done wonders for their sonic palette (no one who considers him- or herself an enthusiast of sound should go their life without hearing ?uestlove's crash cymbal on "Radio Daze" or "Stomp"); and, personally, I think Kamal Gray's keyboards on "How I Got Over" are far more ambient and evocative than anything of Scott Storch's. Mainly, what puts me off about the early records is that general collegiate, poetry-class vibe that seems so dominant in "conscious rap" of the sort; it diminishes on each subsequent release, and is pretty much gone completely by "Phrenology," but it leaves traces of bad taste in my mouth for as long as it lingers. I think the later stuff retains the best qualities of that stuff (the razor-sharp smarts, the rampant social consciousness) but discards the lesser qualities (the ponderous stroking of its own lineage, the lazy lite-jazz beats) in favor of a sonic range that's more diverse and overall a lot more compelling (or perhaps just more immediate and melodic, which is good enough for me regardless).

***I think there's a noticeable difference in both Black Thought's thematic content and the ferociousness of his delivery from "The Tipping Point" on, which for a lot of artists was around the time when their post-Iraq, Bush-era blood really started boiling. I think all their music since then has been consumed by that drive, even as those specific issues fade away. I don't know, it just takes more of a hold on me than the old stuff.

[VinylGuy]

These guys are making a record with..Elvis Costello. Consider me interested just because its a weird mix, something cool might came out from this.
Also, a new record probably next year and Questlove producing the Dangelo album too.

[Mojopin]

Man, I love Elvis Costello...

[Kevin Davis]

I'm really, really excited about that.

[Norah]

Yeah that sounds awesome.

[Fuzzcharger]

I purchased a 2nd hand copy of Things Fall Apart from the $5 bin at a record store in Sydney last week. There's a lot I like about this record. Is it a mistake to start checking out a band with what is generally regarded as the pinnacle of a bands catalogue?

[Jorge]

I'm really, really excited about that.

Fuck! That's so incredibly exciting.

[Gods' Die]

I purchased a 2nd hand copy of Things Fall Apart from the $5 bin at a record store in Sydney last week. There's a lot I like about this record. Is it a mistake to start checking out a band with what is generally regarded as the pinnacle of a bands catalogue?

That's what I always do with bands...I figure that's my best shot at getting them to stick if they're going to. Besides, these guys are pretty fucking good, so getting into them from any avenue isn't a mistake.

[VinylGuy]

Im exited about the Costello collaboration, but i just want another record from them, specially after Undun i want to see where they takes us.

[Fuzzcharger]

I purchased a 2nd hand copy of Things Fall Apart from the $5 bin at a record store in Sydney last week. There's a lot I like about this record. Is it a mistake to start checking out a band with what is generally regarded as the pinnacle of a bands catalogue?

That's what I always do with bands...I figure that's my best shot at getting them to stick if they're going to. Besides, these guys are pretty fucking good, so getting into them from any avenue isn't a mistake.

It's always disappointing when you hear the best album and want more of that sound and all the rest turns out to be nowhere near as good or quite different. It is reassuring to hear that you can't really go wrong with the Roots catalogue though.

[Gods' Die]

I purchased a 2nd hand copy of Things Fall Apart from the $5 bin at a record store in Sydney last week. There's a lot I like about this record. Is it a mistake to start checking out a band with what is generally regarded as the pinnacle of a bands catalogue?

That's what I always do with bands...I figure that's my best shot at getting them to stick if they're going to. Besides, these guys are pretty fucking good, so getting into them from any avenue isn't a mistake.

It's always disappointing when you hear the best album and want more of that sound and all the rest turns out to be nowhere near as good or quite different. It is reassuring to hear that you can't really go wrong with the Roots catalogue though.

But if you absolutely love that one album you may not have ever heard it if you went with a lesser record and scrapped the band before getting a chance to hear their best work.

Maybe try a lesser album or two for a week and then try their most-agreed-upon masterpiece? That's actually what I did with Wilco (started with Sky Blue Sky) and I fucking love them now.