Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
Encyclopedia
Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams is the second studio album
by American R&B
singer Solange Knowles
, released August 18, 2008, on Polydor Records
and Music World. Recording during 2005 to 2008, Knowles was heavily influenced by the "Motown Sound" of the 1960s and 1970s during the album's conception, prompting her to work with several vintage-style producers and songwriters such as Cee-Lo Green, Mark Ronson
, and former Holland–Dozier–Holland composer Lamont Dozier
. Exploring the lyrical theme of independence, it also incorporates elements of downbeat
and electronic music
that she had familiarized herself with on previous trips to Europe.
Deviating from the R&B and dance-pop
of Knowles' debut album, Solo Star
(2002), Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams featured promotion that aimed at an "intellectual, backpacking, coffee shop, digital kid" audience. The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200
chart, selling 46,000 copies in its first week, and spawned three singles that attained chart success as number-one Billboard Dance hits. Upon its release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams received generally positive reviews from most music critics. , it has sold 138,000 copies in the United States.
, and her divorce from Daniel Smith, with whom she had lived following the birth of their son Daniel Julez in October 2004. The follow-up to the critical and commercial disappointment of 2003's Solo Star
was preceded by Knowles's move from Columbia
to Geffen Records
in late 2007. Knowles was heavily influenced by Motown girl group
s such as The Supremes
and The Marvelettes
, and by her mother Tina, a one-time member of the 1960s harmony group The Veltones, who used to play music by the likes of Dusty Springfield
and Martha Reeves
to her. Knowles decided to distance herself from the teen pop
and dance-pop
-oriented R&B sound mainly associated with her previous effort, Solo Star.
Willed to create a concept album revolving around her growth as a musical artist instead, she eventually got into the idea of a "sweet, soulful record [...] based around the Sixties and Seventies, telling stories of where I have been the last couple years." Also borrowing elements from downbeat
and electronic music
she discovered on recent trips to Europe, her vision of the album eventually resulted into a mixture that Knowles has described as a "'60s/70s vintage soul record with hints of electronica." In an interview with Billboard
magazine, Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair
said of the album prior to release, "Her record is totally bananas ... It's not what people would expect from her. The music is more electric and international. She's in her own lane."
were not consulted until late into the production of the album, both having been persuaded by Knowles at the 50th Grammy Awards
ceremony: "I had to party with Cee-Lo too to get him to work on the record [...] but once he did [listen to my music] he signed on immediately." She also collaborated with several studio personalities, including Jack Splash, Shea Taylor, Mr. Familiar, Lamont Dozier
, production teams Soulshock & Karlin
and Bama Boyz
, as well as singers and rappers Pharrell Williams
, Bilal
, Q-Tip
and Lil Wayne
respectively. In addition, Marsha Ambrosius
of Floetry
lent vocals to the unreleased recording "Wanna Go Back", while Raphael Saadiq
and British singer Estelle
demoed the track "Same Song, Different Man", which didn’t make it to the final track listing. In an interview with Starpulse, Knowles later said of the experience:
Inspired by the aspirations of Knowles's father Mathew
, the album was titled after Hadley Street, a plot of land in downtown Houston: "My father took me there one day and told me he was going to build a studio," she said in an interview with the Daily Mail
. "The title is a tribute to his vision. He had a plan and he saw it through. That was a real eye-opener for me. It inspired me to dig out my old Marvin Gaye
albums and start writing songs."
chart, and at number nine on the official Billboard 200
, with moderately successful first week sales of 46,000 copies, making it Knowles's first US top 10 album. Internationally, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams was a commercial disappointment, reaching a peak position of just 180 on the UK Albums Chart
. , the album has sold 138,000 copies in the US.
The album's lead single, "I Decided", debuted on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart at number 44 in Billboard' s July 5, 2008 issue. The song also debuted at number one on the Hot Dance Singles Sales and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales charts and debuted at number two on the Hot Singles Sales chart. The single sold 300,000 copies in US The album's last track, a remix entitled "I Decided (Part 2)", produced by Freemasons
was released as the album's first single in Europe, where the song entered the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart
. The track reached the number-one spot on the US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales
and Hot Dance Club Play
, while peaking at number 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart.
s. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 72, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Rob Harvilla of The Village Voice
called the album "bizarrely mesmerizing", and was favorable of Solange's vintage sound, writing that "it plays like a decades-late but nonetheless awfully compelling audition tape for the Supremes." Harvilla wrote that some of the material's idiosyncratic and unconventional lyrics invite "inexplicable but highly favorable comparisons to Kate Bush
. (Ethereal but powerful, unhinged but in total command.)" Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe
referred to the album as a "smartly executed, classy set of songs that's miles away from the hoochie pop being turned out by young female R&B vocalists these days," citing its "organic throwback vibe that evokes classic Motown and '70s soul while remaining firmly contemporary." The Times
writer Pryia Elan declared the album "a modern classic," also giving it four out of five stars, while Slant Magazine
's Sal Cinquemani praised "the mix of organic, old-school instrumentation and more electronic elements [resulting in] a loose, fun and reverent record." Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams a favorable review and lauded Solange's performance on the album, stating:
Dan LeRoy of The Hartford Courant
compared her work to that of sister Beyoncé Knowles
, stating "Solange combines retro warmth and current cool in ways her more commercially successful sibling probably can't." Mark Edward Nero of About.com
noted the album "a creative, outside-the-box
collection of songs," but lamented the "bad production, poor arrangement, and/or some undisciplined, mediocre singing" on a few songs on the album's second half. Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone
magazine cited Knowles's attempts at Erykah Badu
-inspired psychedelic-soul tracks such as "Cosmic Journey" as well as her vocal abilities as "embarrassing", comparing the album's sound to "a woozy lava lamp glow." Caroline Sullivan's review for The Guardian
was more emphatic, dubbing Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams as "savvy R&B with a gloss you can check your reflection in." Jaimie Gill of Yahoo! Music
gave the album a rating of 8/10 and called it a "fine, rich and extremely likeable record", and Billboard
magazine commended Solange for her songwriting on the album. Francis Jones of Hot Press
gave the album a rating of 4/5 and called Solange's singing "sassy and assured". BBC Online's Jan Gilbert complimented Knowles' "modern spin on sounds from the 60s and 70s" and called it "a solid album which you’ll enjoy more with each listening". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
gave the album a rating of honorable mention , which indicates a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy." Vibes Keith Murphy cited it as one of the R&B best albums of the year.
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
Bonus track - iTunes Edition
Bonus track - UK/Circuit City Edition
Sample credits
1Contains a sample of Thievery Corporation
's "A Gentle Dissolve"
2Contains a sample of Heinz Kiessling
's "Feeling Young"
3Contains a sample of The Supremes
' "Where Did Our Love Go
"
4Contains a sample of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' "Summer of Sound"
5Contains a sample of the percussion in Marvin Gaye
's "What's Going On
"
6Contains a sample of Boards of Canada
's "Slow This Bird Down"
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
singer Solange Knowles
Solange Knowles
Solange Piaget Knowles , who performs under the mononym Solange, is an American singer-songwriter, actress, model, dancer, and DJ. Knowles was born and raised in Houston, Texas along with her older sister singer Beyoncé, a former member of R&B group Destiny's Child...
, released August 18, 2008, on Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
and Music World. Recording during 2005 to 2008, Knowles was heavily influenced by the "Motown Sound" of the 1960s and 1970s during the album's conception, prompting her to work with several vintage-style producers and songwriters such as Cee-Lo Green, Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
, and former Holland–Dozier–Holland composer Lamont Dozier
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...
. Exploring the lyrical theme of independence, it also incorporates elements of downbeat
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
that she had familiarized herself with on previous trips to Europe.
Deviating from the R&B and dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
of Knowles' debut album, Solo Star
Solo Star
Solo Star is the debut album by American singer Solange Knowles, released by Columbia Records and Music World on December 26, 2002 in Japan and January 21, 2003 in the United States. It debuted and peaked at number forty-nine on the U.S...
(2002), Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams featured promotion that aimed at an "intellectual, backpacking, coffee shop, digital kid" audience. The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 46,000 copies in its first week, and spawned three singles that attained chart success as number-one Billboard Dance hits. Upon its release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams received generally positive reviews from most music critics. , it has sold 138,000 copies in the United States.
Background
Knowles had been working on her second studio album on and off since 2005 following her return home to Houston, TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and her divorce from Daniel Smith, with whom she had lived following the birth of their son Daniel Julez in October 2004. The follow-up to the critical and commercial disappointment of 2003's Solo Star
Solo Star
Solo Star is the debut album by American singer Solange Knowles, released by Columbia Records and Music World on December 26, 2002 in Japan and January 21, 2003 in the United States. It debuted and peaked at number forty-nine on the U.S...
was preceded by Knowles's move from Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
to Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
in late 2007. Knowles was heavily influenced by Motown girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
s such as The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
and The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes
The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr...
, and by her mother Tina, a one-time member of the 1960s harmony group The Veltones, who used to play music by the likes of Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
and Martha Reeves
Martha Reeves
Martha Rose Reeves is an American R&B and Pop singer and former politician, and was the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. During her tenure with The Vandellas, they scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Jimmy Mack", "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run"...
to her. Knowles decided to distance herself from the teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
and dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
-oriented R&B sound mainly associated with her previous effort, Solo Star.
Willed to create a concept album revolving around her growth as a musical artist instead, she eventually got into the idea of a "sweet, soulful record [...] based around the Sixties and Seventies, telling stories of where I have been the last couple years." Also borrowing elements from downbeat
Downtempo
Downtempo is a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music, but usually with a beat or groove unlike the beatless forms of Ambient music. The beat is sometimes made from loops that have a hypnotic feeling...
and electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
she discovered on recent trips to Europe, her vision of the album eventually resulted into a mixture that Knowles has described as a "'60s/70s vintage soul record with hints of electronica." In an interview with Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine, Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair
Ron Fair
Ron Fair is a veteran A&R executive, record producer arranger, recording engineer and songwriter. In a career that has spanned over 30 years at major record labels he has produced and arranged hits for several artists, but he is best known as a "guru/mentor", guiding the careers of unknown artists...
said of the album prior to release, "Her record is totally bananas ... It's not what people would expect from her. The music is more electric and international. She's in her own lane."
Recording
Although Knowles had previously worked with a wide range of high-profile producers and songwriters on earlier projects, she struggled to convince her wishlisted musicians to contribute to Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, production-wise. This was due to no producer signing on to the project before hearing any material for the album. "I don't think it was offensive," Knowles admitted. "I understand that these are people that want to take on credible passionate projects. So before I would work with them I would schedule a meeting and play them the record. And then they were more convinced and willing to get on board." Cee-Lo Green and Mark RonsonMark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
were not consulted until late into the production of the album, both having been persuaded by Knowles at the 50th Grammy Awards
50th Grammy Awards
The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on February 10, 2008. Kanye West received the most nominations, with eight. Amy Winehouse was the big winner, winning a total of five awards. Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters won Album of the Year,...
ceremony: "I had to party with Cee-Lo too to get him to work on the record [...] but once he did [listen to my music] he signed on immediately." She also collaborated with several studio personalities, including Jack Splash, Shea Taylor, Mr. Familiar, Lamont Dozier
Lamont Dozier
Lamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...
, production teams Soulshock & Karlin
Soulshock & Karlin
Soulshock & Karlin is a duo of Danish record producers and songwriters, Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin. They have produced a large number of successful songs, including Monica's "Before You Walk out of My Life", Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel", JoJo's "Leave ", and Fantasia's "Truth Is"...
and Bama Boyz
Bama Boyz
The Bama Boyz are a Grammy-nominated, Dove Award Winning, American record production, songwriting, and artist trio, consisting of Eddie “E-Trez” Smith III, Jesse J. Rankins, Jonathan D. Wells...
, as well as singers and rappers Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams , commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music...
, Bilal
Bilal (musician)
Bilal Sayeed Oliver , better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American neo soul/jazz singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is also a core member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians. Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began classical training in jazz and big-band...
, Q-Tip
Q-Tip (rapper)
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
and Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
respectively. In addition, Marsha Ambrosius
Marsha Ambrosius
Marsha Ambrosius or Marsha is an English singer/songwriter. A former member of the English Soul/R&B duo Floetry, she released her first solo album Late Nights & Early Mornings on March 1, 2011.-Early career with Floetry:...
of Floetry
Floetry
Floetry was a British R&B duo comprising Marsha Ambrosius and Natalie Stewart . The group recorded two studio albums, one live album, and sold over 800,000 records worldwide. Formed in 1999, Floetry started on the performance poetry stage.In 2002, the duo released their first album entitled, Floetic...
lent vocals to the unreleased recording "Wanna Go Back", while Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
and British singer Estelle
Estelle (singer)
Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...
demoed the track "Same Song, Different Man", which didn’t make it to the final track listing. In an interview with Starpulse, Knowles later said of the experience:
Inspired by the aspirations of Knowles's father Mathew
Mathew Knowles
Mathew Knowles is an American music executive and manager. He is the father and former manager of R&B singer Beyoncé , Knowles also managed Kelly Rowland as well as girl group Destiny's Child . He was also the manager of Solange Knowles.-Manager and producer:Knowles is an alumnus of Fisk...
, the album was titled after Hadley Street, a plot of land in downtown Houston: "My father took me there one day and told me he was going to build a studio," she said in an interview with the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. "The title is a tribute to his vision. He had a plan and he saw it through. That was a real eye-opener for me. It inspired me to dig out my old Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
albums and start writing songs."
Commercial performance
In promoting the album, Geffen and Music World aimed at an "intellectual, backpacking, coffee shop, digital kid" audience. Leading up to its release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams featured promotional photography of Knowles in an array of costumes and wigs that evoke late 1960s and early 1970s fashion styles. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop AlbumsTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
chart, and at number nine on the official Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, with moderately successful first week sales of 46,000 copies, making it Knowles's first US top 10 album. Internationally, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams was a commercial disappointment, reaching a peak position of just 180 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. , the album has sold 138,000 copies in the US.
The album's lead single, "I Decided", debuted on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart at number 44 in Billboard
Freemasons (band)
Freemasons are an English dance band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The act consists of producers Russell Small and James Wiltshire .-2005-2007: Early Career:Their name is taken from the Brighton pub, Freemasons Tavern, Hove, which they frequently...
was released as the album's first single in Europe, where the song entered the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The track reached the number-one spot on the US Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales
Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes...
and Hot Dance Club Play
Hot Dance Club Play
The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...
, while peaking at number 44 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart.
Critical reception
Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams received positive reviews from most music criticMusic criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 72, based on 14 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Rob Harvilla of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
called the album "bizarrely mesmerizing", and was favorable of Solange's vintage sound, writing that "it plays like a decades-late but nonetheless awfully compelling audition tape for the Supremes." Harvilla wrote that some of the material's idiosyncratic and unconventional lyrics invite "inexplicable but highly favorable comparisons to Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
. (Ethereal but powerful, unhinged but in total command.)" Ken Capobianco of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
referred to the album as a "smartly executed, classy set of songs that's miles away from the hoochie pop being turned out by young female R&B vocalists these days," citing its "organic throwback vibe that evokes classic Motown and '70s soul while remaining firmly contemporary." The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
writer Pryia Elan declared the album "a modern classic," also giving it four out of five stars, while Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Sal Cinquemani praised "the mix of organic, old-school instrumentation and more electronic elements [resulting in] a loose, fun and reverent record." Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams a favorable review and lauded Solange's performance on the album, stating:
Dan LeRoy of The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
compared her work to that of sister Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...
, stating "Solange combines retro warmth and current cool in ways her more commercially successful sibling probably can't." Mark Edward Nero of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
noted the album "a creative, outside-the-box
Thinking outside the box
Thinking outside the box is to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking....
collection of songs," but lamented the "bad production, poor arrangement, and/or some undisciplined, mediocre singing" on a few songs on the album's second half. Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine cited Knowles's attempts at Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
-inspired psychedelic-soul tracks such as "Cosmic Journey" as well as her vocal abilities as "embarrassing", comparing the album's sound to "a woozy lava lamp glow." Caroline Sullivan's review for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
was more emphatic, dubbing Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams as "savvy R&B with a gloss you can check your reflection in." Jaimie Gill of Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
gave the album a rating of 8/10 and called it a "fine, rich and extremely likeable record", and Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine commended Solange for her songwriting on the album. Francis Jones of Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
gave the album a rating of 4/5 and called Solange's singing "sassy and assured". BBC Online's Jan Gilbert complimented Knowles' "modern spin on sounds from the 60s and 70s" and called it "a solid album which you’ll enjoy more with each listening". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album a rating of honorable mention , which indicates a "likable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well enjoy." Vibes Keith Murphy cited it as one of the R&B best albums of the year.
Track listing
- "God Given Name" (S. Knowles, R. Garza, E. Hilton) – 2:51 1
- "T.O.N.Y.T.O.N.Y."T.O.N.Y." is a song by American singer Solange Knowles. It was written and produced by Jack Splash and Cee-Lo Green for her second studio album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams and released as the album's third and final single...
" (J. Splash, T. Callaway) – 3:54 - "Dancing in the Dark" (S. Knowles, M. Grasso, C. Thomas, S. Sanz, H. Kiessling) – 3:57 2
- "Would've Been the One" (S. Knowles, Jack Splash, M. Riddick) – 4:30
- "Sandcastle Disco" (S. Knowles, Soulshock, K. KarlinSoulshock & KarlinSoulshock & Karlin is a duo of Danish record producers and songwriters, Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin. They have produced a large number of successful songs, including Monica's "Before You Walk out of My Life", Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel", JoJo's "Leave ", and Fantasia's "Truth Is"...
, T. Callaway) – 4:28 - "I DecidedI Decided"I Decided" is a song by American singer Solange Knowles, written and composed by Knowles and producer Pharrell Williams for her second studio album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams...
, Part 1" (S. Knowles, P. Williams) – 4:13 3 - "Valentine's Day" (S. Knowles, J. Rankins, J. Wells, E. Smith III) – 3:26
- "6 O'clock Blues" (S. Knowles, M. Ronson, L. DozierLamont DozierLamont Herbert Dozier is an American songwriter and record producer, born in Detroit, Michigan. Dozier has either co-written or produced several US Billboard #1 hits.-Career:...
, B. Mann, N. Sugarman, H. Steinweiss, T. Brenneck) – 3:37 4 - "Ode to Marvin" (S. Knowles, Jack Splash, M. Riddick) – 3:15 5
- "I Told You So" (S. Knowles, S. Taylor) – 3:56
- "Cosmic Journey" (featuring BilalBilal (musician)Bilal Sayeed Oliver , better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American neo soul/jazz singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is also a core member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians. Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began classical training in jazz and big-band...
) (S. Knowles, B. OliverBilal (musician)Bilal Sayeed Oliver , better known by his stage name Bilal, is an American neo soul/jazz singer-songwriter, musician and producer. He is also a core member of the loose collective, the Soulquarians. Bilal started out by singing in small clubs until he began classical training in jazz and big-band...
, Soulshock, K. Karlin) – 6:11 - "This Bird" (S. Knowles) – 6:07 6
- "I Decided, Part 2" (S. Knowles, P. Williams) (Remix by FreemasonsFreemasons (band)Freemasons are an English dance band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The act consists of producers Russell Small and James Wiltshire .-2005-2007: Early Career:Their name is taken from the Brighton pub, Freemasons Tavern, Hove, which they frequently...
) – 4:00
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
- "6 O'Clock Blues (Whatever Whatever Radio)" – 4:05
- "I Told You So (Mike Rizzo Funk Generation Radio Mix)" – 3:21
- "Wanna Go Back" (featuring Marsha Ambrosius & Q-Tip) – 4:44
Bonus track - iTunes Edition
- "White Picket Dreams" (S. Knowles, S. Taylor) – 4:22
Bonus track - UK/Circuit City Edition
- "ChampagneChroniKnightcap" (S. Knowles, J. Rankins, J. Wells, E. Smith III) – 4:09
Sample credits
1Contains a sample of Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation
Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists, including current drummer Jeff Franca...
's "A Gentle Dissolve"
2Contains a sample of Heinz Kiessling
Heinz Kiessling
Heinz Kiessling was a German musician, conductor, composer and music producer, known mainly from his work for popular films and television programs.- Biography :...
's "Feeling Young"
3Contains a sample of The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
' "Where Did Our Love Go
Where Did Our Love Go
"Where Did Our Love Go" is a 1964 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Where Did Our Love Go" was the first single by the Supremes to go to the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart...
"
4Contains a sample of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' "Summer of Sound"
5Contains a sample of the percussion in Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
's "What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...
"
6Contains a sample of Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada
Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of brothers Mike Sandison and Marcus Eoin...
's "Slow This Bird Down"
Musicians
- Sean Hurley – guitar, keyboards, bass instrument
- John "Jabb" Broussard – guitar, bass instrument
- Phillip Todd – saxophone
- Noel Langley – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Neil Sidwell – trombone
- Manny Patino – drums
Production
- ArrangerArrangerIn investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
s: Jack Splash, Karlin, Simon Hale, Soulshock - EngineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
s: Rommel Nino Villanueva, Andres Bermudez, Gelly Kusuma, Christian Plata, Ryan Gilligan, Shinnosuke Miyazawa, Robert "LB" Dorsey, Patrick Magee, Andrew Coleman - MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
: Ben H. Allen, Neal H. Pogue, Jack Splash, Manny Marroquin, Dave Pensado, Soulshock - Mastering: Tom Coyne, Chris Gehringer
- Art Direction: Fusako Chubachi, Erwin Gorostiza
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
180 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
9 |
| US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
3 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| Ireland | August 18, 2008 | Polydor Polydor Records Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone... , Music World |
| United Kingdom | ||
| United States | August 26, 2008 | Geffen Geffen Records Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:... , Music World |
| Europe | September 9, 2008 | Polydor, Music World |
External links
- Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- No Little-Sister Act for Solange Knowles at Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....