Solange Knowles Albums (2)
'Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams'
Release Date 8/18/2008
Tracks 14
Label Geffen
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Solo Star, Solange's debut, lacked character. Not without a small clutch of memorable songs, much of it was nonetheless generic, containing little to separate it from the average R&B album fronted by an up-and-coming performer. Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, released five years later, is an entirely different affair -- fun, silly, slightly eccentric and, most importantly, fearless. Steeping an album in classic Motown and other R&B sounds of the late '60s and early '70s may not be the wildest maneuver in 2008, but throughout Sol-Angel, there is a kind of frolicsome adventurousness that is singular and undeniable, even when Solange lets loose with the sourness and addresses her false public image. In spots, it sags, and a couple tracks seem more like sketches than neatly bundled songs, yet it's one of the year's more entertaining and easily enjoyable R&B releases, fronted by someone who does not take herself all that seriously, someone who is slightly more concerned with raw emotion and clowning around than technical prowess and polished product. Solange hasn't merely taken Stevie Wonder and Minnie Riperton's advice to "Take a little trip through your mind and explore it." She has inhabited the space, converting into a combination rumpus room/whimsically ornamented meadow/unmanned Hitsville U.S.A., where she can be herself, pull all the strings, and make her album, whether that entails paying tribute to What's Going On-era Marvin Gaye ("Ode to Marvin"), ringing Lamont Dozier (the Mark Ronson-produced, Dap-Kings-sampling "6 O'Clock Blues"), rewriting Martha & the Vandellas' "Heatwave" ("I Decided"), or collaborating with Cee-Lo and Soulshock & Karlin on a laser-laced shaker that is nothing if not clever ("I'm a cool ol' Jane with a skip on my feet/I play as tough as nails with my heart on my sleeve/I'm nothing but a sandcastle/Don't blow me away"). Most surprisingly, she uses Boards of Canada's typically downcast and alluring "Slow This Bird Down" as a platform for a cathartic kiss-off, the album's true finale, one of three songs not soaked in bouncing pop-soul: "I'm not in denial/I'm not suicidal/Not an alcoholic/I'm not out here ho'in'/So just shut...the fuck...up." Despite the mood and purpose, the song -- because of its invitingly insular nature -- is just as representative of the album as the ones that are dressed in handclaps and horns. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Manager and record company president Mathew Knowles, having established Destiny's Child -- featuring his daughter, Beyoncé Knowles -- as the top female vocal group of the early 21st century, has gone on to try to build an empire that includes solo releases from each of the group members, an acting career for Beyoncé, and, now, the premature emergence of younger daughter Solange as a Solo Star, or so the album title would have it. Executive producer Knowles has surrounded Solange with a bevy of trendy writer/producers, including the Underdogs, Platinum Status, Timbaland, the Neptunes, and Rockwilder, along with such guest stars as B2K and Lil' Romeo. The result is a state-of-the-art contemporary R&B album full of big beats, catchy choruses, and gimmicky production effects. But the nominal star of the show is lost somewhere in the mix. It doesn't help that the 16-year-old has a thin, undeveloped voice that is easily overwhelmed. The way to deal with that, of course, is to cut back on the busy production. Solange impresses most when the arrangements are simpler, such as on "Crush" and "Wonderland," when she doesn't have to work as hard to be heard. But there aren't enough tracks like those on the album to allow the listener to tell whether there is any talent here, or whether Solange is just another cog in her daddy's entertainment machine. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
