Editorial Review:

Album Description:
Raphael Saadiq's The Way I See It album is satisfying for both old school heads and today's hip music buyers: his background as a musician, singer and songwriter is steeped in a love for R&B married with a commitment to making his own brand of expressive soul music. The Way I See It has the kind of smooth musical flow associated with great records made by pioneering producers at famous R&B companies like Motown, Invictus and Brunswick. From the foot-tapping opening track, 'Sure Hope You Mean It' to the head-shaking reflective closer 'Sometimes,' Raphael delivers a present day potent ode to a bygone era. Loyal Tony! Toni! Toné! fans will particularly appreciate '100 Yard Dash,' which Raphael describes as 'a juke joint, Booker T.-type groove. I reflected back to my first T!T!T! albums when I was singing in a high tenor voice.' Raphael grins when talking about the hypnotic 'Love That Girl': 'Man, that's all about the swing...the way girls swing their hips! It's the type of song that will make people move and that shuffle beat reminds me of those ladies I used to see playing drums in church!' With its Motown-flavored tambourine-featured beat, 'Never Give You Up' is what Raphael calls 'my three generations song. It includes C.J., this youngster from Baltimore that I'm working with and Stevie Wonder. Now comes The Way I See It, a masterful collection of new material that speaks to Raphael Saadiq's deep love for rhythm and blues.









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Disc 1:

1. Sure Hope You Mean It
2. 100 Yard Dash
3. Keep Marchin'
4. Big Easy featuring The Infamous Young Spodie and the Rebirth Brass Band
5. Just One Kiss featuring Joss Stone
6. Love That Girl
7. Calling
8. Staying In Love
9. Oh Girl
10. Let's Take A Walk
11. Never Give You Up featuring Stevie Wonder and CJ
12. Sometimes
13. Oh Girl (Remix featuring Jay-Z)

Rating: - * Motown Lives Through Raphael ... What a great tribute to the Motown sounds! This man really was inspired by all the wonderful tunes that came from all the phenominal artists of Detroit. He has written songs that evoke great memories of my growing up in the '60's. When I first heard LOVE THAT GIRL I thought it was a real oldie I just had never heard before. His duet with Joss Stone reminds me of Marvin and Tammi. I just have to give him point off for including Jay-Z on the last cut. I am not a rap fan, sorry. Maybe for his next CD he can tackle the Sounds of Philadelphia. Rating: - * Soul Savior!! ... I will not say any more than this is the record of the year. Go out and allow some quality music into your life with this release. GO!!!! Rating: - * Wonderful sound, but by the numbers soul ... I'll start off by saying, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of this style of music as they all start to blend together for me. But Raphael Saadiq's album The Way I See It is marvelous. There isn't a track on the album I didn't enjoy. Even though Jay was honestly unnecessary to have. And Saadiq does get out classed by some guest appearances on the album. Honestly, the only thing that is keeping this album for a 5 out of 5 for me is the fact that you can almost tell every single word he is about to say before he says it. It feels too formulaic as far as lyrics go, but the production makes up for it by sticking to its roots but being different enough to warrant its place an any collection. Rating: - * Sorry dude but its been done already ... I like Saadiq alot and i gotta say, this album is well crafted and you can tell that he worked really hard on this one. For that i give hem respect. I listened to the album 1 time...thats it. I mean, im sorry to say this, and most people will probably not like me very much after saying this...but the motown sound is GONE! I love the motown era and if im in the mood to listen to that kind of music i will bump Marvin, Sam Cook, and Al Green (all of which are my major influences), but trying to bring it back is like trying to bring back Disco. It's gone. Rather, it would have been better to incorporate that kind of sound and fuse it with Saadiqs ORIGINAL sound from which we know him for. The attempt was good but seriously Saadiq might be the only one in the world that will try to bring back the motown sound and its not going to work. Nice try tho! Rating: - * Keep Marching on to the record store for this! ... Folks, Soul lovers and hardcore haters of synthesized crap will find this HANDS DOWN one of the best of the year! Bro. Saddiq has outdone himself with a largely self-produced and performed collection of wonderful Soul Music (real singing and real instruments, albeit mutltitracked I amight add). This CD truly has some joyful moments and it is a shame he is so underrated. "Sure Hope You Mean It" and "Love that Girl" are Temptations-style Motown throwbacks. "Keep Marchin" is an beautifully uptempo Curtis Mayfield type motivational mover. "Big Easy" defies it's sad topic (a man loses his woman during Hurricane Katrina)with an uptempo New Orleans brass band jump-up. "Staying In Love" is a Sly-Stone type jam that unfortuantely fades out just as the guitar is about to cook. "Sometimes" is a sweet number of a man's ode to his mother. "Oh Girl" is not to be confused with the Chi-Lites classic, but is in the spirit of the early 70s love ballads."Never Give You Up" is a nice laid-back group with Stevie Wonder's harmonicizing in support. The type of tune fit for a nice drive on a sunny day. Best of all (in my opinion) is "Just One Kiss." Joss Stone really burns things up on her chorus this one and you should see the live video version of this song. However, it's a bit too short, but once agan, Soul lovers will dig. With that said, this is one of the best all-killer no filler albums you can purchase at the moment. Thank you Raphael! May your genuis be fully recognized and LATER for corporate radio!