Raphael Saadiq: Instant Vintage : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

As the frontman for Tony Toni Tone and R&B super-group Lucy Pearl and a producer for the Isley Brothers, D'Angelo and Angie Stone, Raphael Saadiq has proven adept at making memorable, radio-friendly songs inspired by old-school funk, soul, and gospel. And Saadiq's first solo venture, Instant Vintage, offers more of the same. As a solo artist, however, Saadiq takes his self-described gospeldelic sound to new heights -- from the sweeping, Love Unlimited Orchestra-reminiscent opening track "Doin' What I Can" to the jazzy, Afro-Latin-tinged "Skyy, Can You Feel Me" to the closing, psychedelic funk-cum-church tent revival hidden track. With endearing, baby-I'm-a-good-man songs such as the splendidly harmonized "Be Here" (featuring D'Angelo) and the string-laden "Faithful," Saadiq even one-ups his neo-soul counterpart Musiq as a tender lover man. Although the disc's title pokes fun at the disposable nature of contemporary music, Saadiq is well on his way to joining the ranks of his classic soul predecessors.

TRACY E. HOPKINS
(June 11, 2002)