All the promise of his debut comes true on Aloe Blacc’s sophomore release, Good Things, a vintage sound meets modern problems release with a way too modest title.
Right from the opening “I Need a Dollar” -- which could be passed off as unreleased Bill Withers, no problem -- the album offers grand things, providing listeners with that solid, but not polarizing, style of social commentary Withers perfected.
On the following cut, positivity is pushed (“Something special happened today/I got green lights all the way”) in a manner that’s far from sugary, but this singer who offers such warmth and humility on his smooth soul tracks is well aware of sin, and can get slinky in a Al Green style when warning against loose women on “Hey Brother.” An even better example of this is his cover of the Velvet Underground’s “Femme Fatale,” which becomes much more than a clever choice, thanks to a convincing performance that suggests he’s been there.
The organic production, real horns and all, is left up entirely to the Truth & Soul Productions crew (Jeff Dynamite and Leon Michels) but Blacc’s delivery is less traditional with phrasing and some slang left over from when he was a 24-7 rapper.
Anyone with a taste for neo-soul should try Good Things unique flavor.
It comes on familiar and comfortable and becomes more rich and rewarding with every return visit.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Need a Dollar | Aloe Blacc | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Green Lights | Aloe Blacc | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 3 | Hey Brother | Aloe Blacc | Play | 02:36 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 4 | Miss Fortune | Aloe Blacc | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Life So Hard | Aloe Blacc | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Take Me Back | Aloe Blacc | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | Femme Fatale | Aloe Blacc | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | Loving You Is Killing Me | Aloe Blacc | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 9 | Good Things | Aloe Blacc | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 22 MB |
| 10 | If I | Aloe Blacc | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 11 | Mama Hold My Hand | Aloe Blacc | Play | 05:07 | 11 MB | 27 MB |
| 12 | Politician (Reprise) | Aloe Blacc | Play | 01:38 | 3 MB | 9 MB |
| 43 mins | 100 MB | |||||
| 43 mins | 260 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aloe Blacc | Art Direction, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 2 | Thomas Brenneck | Guitar |
| 3 | Quincy Bright | Bass |
| 4 | Garrett Devoe | Guitar (Acoustic) |
| 5 | Jeff Dynamite | Drums, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 6 | Sam Hart | Stylist |
| 7 | Clay Holley | Mixing |
| 8 | Aaron Johnson | Trombone |
| 9 | Michael Leonhart | Mellophone, Trumpet |
| 10 | Leon Michels | Guitar, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Producer, Saxophone, String Arrangements |
| 11 | Dan Monick | Photography |
| 12 | Adrian Morgan | Mastering |
| 13 | Nick Movshon | Bass, Drums, Guitar |
| 14 | Toby Pazner | Piano, Vibraphone |
| 15 | Peanut Butter Wolf | Executive Producer |
| 16 | Luke Riverside | Guitar |
| 17 | Homer Steinweiss | Drums |
| 18 | Entcho Todorov | Violin |
| 19 | Garo Yellin | Cello |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |