Angela Laverne Brown, better known as Angie Stone professionally, isn't exactly a household name in most circles, but find someone who knows the name and you've found a fan of good music. Though you may not have heard of her, Angie has sold over 5 million albums worldwide and been nominated for three Grammy awards. In her early career Angie was associated with the groups The Sequence, Vertical Hold, Mantronix, Devo and D'Angelo. She launched her solo career in 1999 at the age of 33 with the release of her first album, Black Diamond.
In her third solo album, Stone Love, Angie Stone pays homage to the soul music of the 1970s. This neo-soul singer may conjure the old school, but she is certainly not old-fashioned. Stone's approach mixes hip-hop, funk and classic soul. The album features guest appearances from Snoop Dogg, Floetry and Anthony Hamilton. The most standout thing about this album is that there are no throwaway songs. It is lean and clean at 55 minutes runtime. The album is one of a few in its genre that so easily listens from beginning to end.
But there are certainly a few highlights. The most radio friendly of them is "I Wanna Thank Ya," which features Snoop Dogg in a fun up-tempo take on an R&B love song with a healthy dose of hip-hop. My personal favorite on the disc is the fourth track, "U-Haul." This break-up song from Angie is so good, it makes me want to thank whoever broke her heart and gave her the inspiration for such an amazing track. The lyrics and expressions on this disc make Angie seem very worldy-wise about life's peaks and pitfalls.
Stone Love as an album is a cut above the rest in its class. There has been so much forgettable music released in the last decade. Listening to Stone Love makes me happy enough to smile knowing that there is still good music out there somewhere. If you haven't yet checked out any of Angie Stone's records, there's every reason to start here and now.
Written by Matthew Ruderman - a music loving, baseball playing, guitar picking, surfer dude and all around renaissance man. Check out Matt's site - onqny.com
| Stone Love |