D'Angelo's debut was an instant classic. When the New Yorker released Brown Sugar in 1995, 'neo soul' was still not a household name. Michael Eugene Archer, as D'Angelo is really called, brought soul back to the R&B of the 90s. Along with acts like , and , he proved that old-fashioned craftsmanship could become very popular. Brown Sugar unexpectedly sold millions of copies. As enchanting as
… D'Angelo's clear voice and music was, it was never too slick or produced. Contrary to the work of many colleagues, the singer was truly a person of flesh and blood in his songs. However, there was something supernatural about his immense talent: he was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, producer and arranger. But when, after all the success, he started working on a successor, D'Angelo found that he needed a lot of time. In his own words, he first had to gain some more life experiences. That is what characterizes his music: straight from life. The archive has been thoroughly combed through for the extras in this re-release. More than a third of the 21 bonus tracks are alternative versions of title track Brown Sugar. Only for the real fans! (JE)more
