Instant Vintage

Raphael Saadiq - Instant Vintage

Instant Vintage
List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $8.84
You Save: $5.14 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Listen soundtracks from this album



(Click here)
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

Music CD Cover

Artist: Raphael Saadiq
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-06-11
Music Label: Umvd Labels
Soundtracks:
  1. Doing What I Can
  2. Body Parts
  3. Be Here
  4. Still Ray
  5. OPH
  6. You're The One I Like
  7. Excuse Me
  8. Charlie Ray
  9. Different Times
  10. Tick Tock
  11. People
  12. Tek #1
  13. Faithful
  14. Make My Day
  15. Blind Man
  16. Tek #2
  17. Uptown
  18. What's Life Like
  19. Skyy, Can You Feel Me

Free Music Notes for Instant Vintage

Free Music Review: Listen and understand why it's called what it's called...
Hit: 5 Stars

If you think that by calling an album 'Instant Vintage' it is a testament to an artist's arrogance and how highly they think of what they do, then you know nothing about and have never heard any song that Raphael Saadiq had a hand in. If you have, and especially if you've heard Tony Toni Tone's final album 'House of Music', my personal favorite album of all time, then you can only be nodding your head at the title. The fact of the matter is, he is the most talented and consistentally impressive musician and singer working in R&B and you can count on him to release a great album no matter what state the music is in. The typical music fan is probably still sleeping on this one, sadly, as I've heard only one song played on the radio and BET and seen this album nowhere on the Top 40 charts. The majority of R&B acts and performers these days are purely style over substance, but this album is substance with a gang of style along with it. It is so well-written, well-performed, and almost all of the songs have something deep and meaningful beneath the surface shine.

The opener of the album 'Doing What I Can' is a biographical number where he sings about just trying doing the best that he can at what he does, and is intersparsed with various reporters and media types speaking about Saadiq's life and childhood growing up in the rough streets of Oakland. Then it moves right into 'Body Parts', a nice uptempo number with a heavy backbeat and a late-night feel like you's comin' back from a night of poppin' Cris at a club. The first and only single that I know of off the album, 'Be Here', is a nice number featuring D'Angelo that was a good choice for the radio, but is hardly the stand-out on the album. In fact, compared to some of the rest of the songs, it's pretty flat-sounding, as is 'Still Ray', which uses a variation on Dr. Dre's 'Still Dre' beat, though Saadiq's song is much better than Dre's ridiculous bit of braggadocio. The piano loop works much better on an R&B song anyways. One of my favorite songs on the album 'You're the One that I Like' follows after a short (and pretty pointless) interlude, and is a pretty poignant and kind of sad number about Saadiq coming back home to his neighborhood in the ghetto to find an old girlfriend of his who, in spite of having all the promise and chances in the world, became a victim of her surroundings. This is a story I've witnessed first-hand in my life, so I'm mad feelin' the hurt he's talking about. 'Excuse Me' is a bumpin' three-person duet featuring Saadiq, Calvin Richardson, and Angie Stone, all going back and forth to sing about a man or woman that they got it bad for, but that don't give them the time of day. An excellent collaboration of three talented artists, that rather than feeling forced and paycheck-hungry, actually seems like they all just one day decided to record a song together. Another of the best songs on the album, and also the most inspirational is 'Different Times', a duet with T-Boz, who really shows her vocal skills here. This is the most directly spiritually-driven number on the album, with it's hypnotic beat and lush vocals. It's jus' somethin' to get me or you through the day, as simple as that. Now comes my bar-none favorite song on the album 'Tick Tock', a beautiful song in which Saadiq tells his lost love that he will step back and let her deal with what she is going through, but that at the end of the day he'll always be there waiting, and hoping that she'll come back to him. This song just goes to show you what an emotional singer Raphael Saadiq is. I mean, just listen to the last verse. He's beggin, pleadin' for her as well as you, the listener, to understand his frustration and heartache. It's a beautiful thing. The next number 'People' is a powerful socially-conscious tune with observances on politics, the ghetto, the music industry and the children of this world who are growing up into a future that is looking bleaker and bleaker. Hey, somebody hadda tell the truth, right? After that dour number there is an interlude in which Saadiq introduces the next song as being inspired by two of his friends, Jaimie Fox and Lamont. The song is called 'Faithful' and is probably the song that sounds the most like classic Tony Toni Tone, almost like it coulda been left over from one of their early '90s albums. 'Blind Man' is one'a the most thought-provoking numbers on the whole album. There is something poignant in the words, but I don't really know how to explain it, so you'll just hafta listen to it, and probably more than once. Then discover the meaning behind it to yourself. It's deep, trust me. Another song that sounds like it coulda been culled from Tony Toni Tone's recording sessions is 'Uptown', in which Saadiq sings about leaving his hometown, because of all the drugs and death he sees around him. Don't let the hood take you under is the message he's sendin' here, and he puts it across beautifully. 'What's Life Like' is a brief, but powerful number about shunning materialism and making sure your soul's alright. The final song is a duet with Rosie Kaye called 'Skyy, Can You Feel Me' and it is a has a very breezy, late night feel to it, like you should be cruising the downtown strip at night bumpin' it. There are also two bonus tracks that appear at the end of the song, but that are not listed on the album. It is all brought full-circle and ended on a positive note.

I guess if I had to complain about anything on this album, it's that there is no real strong and monumental ballad, the kind that he was so damn good at singing when he was with Tony Toni Tone. A ballad along the lines of 'Still a Man' would've put this way over the top. But, in spite of that one disappointment, I still hafta give this five stars, because overall, Raphael Saadiq's long-awaited first solo album is a diamond in the rough of bad and mediocre releases that have come out in 2002. He has managed to grow but also stay true to his old self, giving the listeners who know him from his days in Tony Toni Tone what they want to hear, as well as making sure he doesn't get thrown into any category with anyone who is sub-par, by using the most sparse yet at the same time full arrangements and writing the most original songs. Lush orchestration, hook-laden, danceable melodies, and gospel influences are evident throughout the album, making it an all-around classic in every sense of the word. Alright, now that you've read this review, all of you who are still sleeping on this, WAKE UP! And then go out right now, buy this albu, and support this man, because he is the BEST at what he does. 'Nuff said.

Instant Vintage Poster

Saadiq was a member of the top pop group Tony Toni Tone. The singer/writer/producer now strikes out his solo path with this initial "gospeldelic" release. Guest stars include D'Angelo, Angie Stone, T-Boz of TLC and producer/artist Hi-Tek. Includes bonus track "Why".

Blues Music CDs

Music Genres
Top music charts in Blues Music CDs
Southern String Bands ImageSouthern String Bands
Release date: 1997-05-07; Music CD
Price in other shops: $9.98
Texas Blues ImageLightnin Hopkins - Texas Blues
Release date: 1993-11-30; Music CD
Price in other shops: $9.98
15 Regional Mexican Music Classics Image15 Regional Mexican Music Classics
Release date: 1997-02-25; Music CD
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops: $7.98
Love's Been Rough on Me ImageEtta James - Love's Been Rough on Me
Release date: 1997-04-29; Music CD
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops: $10.98
Mystery Lady ImageEtta James - Mystery Lady
Release date: 1994-03-15; Music CD
Best price: $14.02
Dancing the Blues ImageTaj Mahal - Dancing the Blues
Release date: 1993-09-28; Music CD
Best price: $9.72
Price in other shops: $11.98
Moments to Remember [VHS] ImageBill Gaither & Gloria - Moments to Remember [VHS]
Chordant; Release date: 1996-09-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.55
Price in other shops: $29.98
Sing Your Blues Away [VHS] ImageSing Your Blues Away [VHS]
Chordant Distribution; Release date: 1996-09-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.18
Price in other shops: $29.98
Rhythm Country & Blues [VHS] ImageRhythm Country & Blues [VHS]
Mca; Release date: 1994-03-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $19.98
Smoking Gun ImageRobert Cray - Smoking Gun
Published: 1988; Music CD
Top Rated Albums
Brown Sugar ImageD'Angelo - Brown Sugar
Release date: 1995-07-03; Music CD
Best price: $3.76
Price in other shops: $7.96
The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill ImageLauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
HILL,LAURYN; Release date: 1998-08-25; Music CD
Best price: $6.24
Price in other shops: $9.99
The Light Of The Sun ImageJill Scott - The Light Of The Sun
Release date: 2011-06-21; Music CD
Best price: $7.78
Price in other shops: $18.98
House of Music ImageTony Toni Tone - House of Music
Release date: 1996-11-19; Music CD
Best price: $3.91
Price in other shops: $11.98
Sons of Soul ImageTony Toni Tone - Sons of Soul
Release date: 1993-06-22; Music CD
Best price: $1.35
Price in other shops: $11.98
Lucy Pearl ImageLUCY PEARL - Lucy Pearl
Release date: 2004-10-03; Music CD
Best price: $9.19
Ray Ray ImageRaphael Saadiq - Ray Ray
Release date: 2004-10-05; Music CD
Best price: $13.80
Price in other shops: $17.98
All Hits House of Blues ImageRaphael Saadiq - All Hits House of Blues
Release date: 2005-07-11; Music CD
Best price: $9.20
Price in other shops: $17.98
Raphael Saadiq The Way I See It ImageRaphael Saadiq - Raphael Saadiq The Way I See It
Baker & Taylor; Release date: 2008-09-16; Music CD
Best price: $6.30
Price in other shops: $10.98
Stone Rollin' ImageRaphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
Release date: 2011-05-10; Music CD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: $11.96
Compare prices and find music notes for more than one million Music CD titles