Pros: Experienced and unique vocalist; Prince stylings yet has own sound
Cons: Dependent on if listener likes voice and jazz singer stylings; curses some
The Bottom Line: A virtual Neo-soul classic and a great example of the Soulquarian family style; Adds emotion and soul to every song and verse much like Mary J. is infamous for
lyrikalbj's Full Review: 1st Born Second [PA] by Bilal
Ever since “Soul Sista” dropped on the Love & Basketball Soundtrack in 2000, Bilal Oliver has been eagerly anticipated by fans of The Roots and other members of the Soulquarian extended family. This talented jazz singer turned neo-soul funkster now delivers an astonishing gem of a debut with the buzz-worthy quality of Erykah Badu and Jill Scott’s debuts. Before the release of his debut album, 1ST BORN SECOND, the multi-lingual Bilal wrote and produced for Erykah Badu as well as made appearances on Common’s breakthrough hip hop album “Like Water For Chocolate”, Guru’s latest Jazzmatazz effort, and his sultry addition to Love & Basketball. Virtually a year later than the initial buzz in 2000, Bilal finally reveals why he is searing his vocals into the psyches of all who’ve heard his jazzy Prince-like croonings.
The album as a whole is a beautifully rendered extension of his first soulful single “Soul Sista” which is produced by Raphael Saadiq. Despite the fact that “Soul Sista” is the only Raphael Saadiq produced track on the album, the rest of the songs seem to hold true to the style Bilal displays on the song. The entire album drips with Bilal’s uncanny ability to fill every verse and song with soulful emotion. It almost seems that Bilal’s voice dances and spins about various notes for every written lyric of each song. The result is an unparalleled vocal effort that could only be topped in live performance by the man himself! Each hook or bridge seems to build up to a soulful or funked out scat or improv near the end of virtually every song that fills the song with its own unique character and style yet not so irregular as to lose chemistry with Bilal’s style. All in all, you never feel as if the song is repetitive even if the lyrics are. Bilal places emotion and emphasis skill fully on every poetic would in this album. Just as the sensual lyrics of “Soul Sista” evoke a passion felt encounter with the love of Bilal’s dreams other songs vividly portray the purpose or direction of the lyrics mostly written by Bilal himself. For instance, a personal favorite named “You Are” professes his love for another in a poetic fashion saying that she is “no less than everything, and nothing more”. He even skillfully adds a spoken word piece to the “Love Poems” track. On the flip side, he experiments with anger, sorrow, and confusion in the powerful track “Second Child” which he wrote and produced. Don’t ignore this socially conscious track. The energy in Bilal’s voice and power of the tempo changes and Bilal’s well placed improvs will quickly have you follow the powerful story that lies within the track.
Even if someone was not impressed with the vocal acrobatics of Bilal, the tracks are polished, refined, and definitely on point. With Bilal producing or co-producing most of the tracks, the whole album explores all tempos, fast, medium, and slow, with surprising success. For example “Slyde” displays how Bilal playfully improvs throughout a song with his jazz singer background shining throughout the whole track. Upbeat and uplifting, this song and many others on the album actually sound like he had fun making the song. He layers his voice over and over not in harmonies as much as in melodic, playfully chaotic improvs of emotion and energy from song to song.
Now don’t be fooled. Bilal’s Prince comparisons are apparent but he definitely has his own style. That is immediately displayed on this album by the couple of Dr. Dre produced tracks that show Bilal’s unique ability to mesh his jazzy soul into a pimped out track. The result is an addictive sound that has Bilal’s harmonies sounding a bit like the Parliament or George Clinton. All the while he throws progressive hip hop into the mix with a co-lab with Mos Def and Common on “Reminisce” (which was produced by the Soulquarians). The song “Home” dabbles with the universal reggae sound successfully as he uses his voice to dance around the irregular and soothing reggae beat. Many times you’ll hear the Prince-like raspy screams and most of the songs find him displaying his ability to reach and hold fairly high notes similar to Maxwell and D’Angelo who both claim to be devout Prince fans as well.
In the end, if you liked the style and sound of his experienced voice in the released singles “Love It” and “Soul Sista”, then 1ST BORN SECOND will provide a total of 16 excellent neo-soul, funk, soul, hip hop, regge, bluesy jazz tracks to fill your ears and heart with Bilal’s vocal soul food. Eat up and enjoy.
There are exciting times in music; a return to purity, risk-taking and truth-telling. Yet it has been some time since we have seen the likes of Bilal ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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