"The Love Below" (Listen Again for the First Time).....

[Suga Foot]

With the help from a review at HipHopSite, I finally relaized that Andre's "The Love Below" is, without a doubt, one of my all time favorite albums.  I was diggin the album before I really realized what it was, but I fuckin love it now.  Let me tell you what I'm talkin bout.

The Love Below is a concept album. It's an album that tells the story of Andre Benjamin, a lost soul looking for love, trying different personalities on for size in order to capture it. In this search, he delivers an abundance of sounds, and over the course of 20 tracks, he tells this story. It begins with the aforementioned lonely lounge singer, who by track #2 ("Happy Valentine's Day"), decides to get out there, take the bull by the horns, and meet Ms. Right-For-Tonight. This incredibly musical excursion kicks the album off with Funkadelic inspiration, as Andre defines himself as a player looking for action, never one to be struck by Cupid's "bullet". His night on the town leads to the melodic "Spread", a fast paced, drunken romp through the club scene that ends up an intoxicated drive home and zippers coming quickly undone as Andre sings "Spread, spread for me!". The next morning, Andre begins to wonder if his one-night stand was more than that, over a breezy morning ballad ("Prototype"), singing "I think I'm in love again....". As Andre settles in with his new boo, he reveals himself sprung on the spacey "She Lives In My Lap", then celebrates his new love on "Hey Ya!", where he plays Mick Jagger on this lively 60's rock anthem. But Andre's newfound fascination doesn't last, as he begins to scratch the surface of his relationship on "Roses", where he sings "I know you like to think your shit don't stank / but lean a lil' bit closer see / roses really smell like poo-poo". But "Behold A Lady" and "Pink & Blue", Andre instead takes interest in an older woman. However Andre's new interest doesn't seem to last either, despite his plea on "Love In War" "let's kiss, not fight". He examines his own mother's plight as a single parent on the incredible "She's Alive", driven by its mellow jazz pianos, however gets cold feet at "Dracula's Wedding", as fear of commitment scares even The Count from settling down. Andre's future is then put into his hand, as "Vibrate", says "the hell with love", and chooses masturbation instead.  What may at first seem like an experiment gone wrong (especially to those looking for an album of standard hip-hop), is actually a brilliant piece of music produced entirely by Andre himself, pushing the boundaries (actually dancing outside of them) of what hip-hop is; and one that must be ingested in whole, rather than a piece at a time.

-HipHopSite


Now that you have read that, and realized that the entire album tells a story, go listen to it again for the first time.  Fuckin dope album.

[SGV]

It's a dope album. I was suprised by it. Dre came with a lot of dope styles. But, the album isn't for the closeminded. If you only like Hip Hop, you won't like this album. IMO, if Big Boi's disc would've been better, the LP would've been the best of the year.

[KURUPTION-81]

i love the album aswell i listen to it every day.

[Trauma-san]

In comparison to other concept albums, it sucks.  Maybe to you it's genius because you've never heard anything similar, but evvvvvverybody has done this.  Album didn't impress me at all.  

[Kaidy]

I love that cd, i havent taken it out of my player since i bought it a couple weeks ago. easily my favorite of the year. i dont really agree with that synopsis of the album tho, its definitely a concept album dealing with a lot of aspects of love, but i dont see it as a story. i think they're looking too much into it

i have to give Andre a lot of props for having the balls to come out with an album like that. The risks he took musically are real inspirational. Great album, im glad i can actually say that this year after all the shit i've had to listen to.

anyone else still playing this daily?

[Suga Foot]

In comparison to other concept albums, it sucks.  Maybe to you it's genius because you've never heard anything similar, but evvvvvverybody has done this.  Album didn't impress me at all.  

Name some similar ones for me to check out. please

[T.J.]

i never really had time to listen to the album from start to finish so i never really thought this was a concept album until you explained it. i think i'll understand it a bit more now.

[Trauma-san]

Alright, this might blow your mind, but it's actually been done hundreds of times.  We'll start at the beginning, LOL

The first Concept album was arguably The Beatles, with "Revolver", but it wasn't totally, track for track, a concept album.  It was the first time though that bands started experimenting with the entire album being 1 piece, as opposed to a collection of singles.

The Beach Boys heard about this, and their resident Genius, Brian Wilson, made the first true concept album, "Pet Sounds".  It's about a guy (Brian Wilson's) Journey to adult life.  The first song is about this awesome girl he knows, and how great it would be if they were married "Wouldn't it be Nice"... then he goes through songs about problems they have, eventually leading to their demise.  The song "You Still Believe In Me" is Paul McCartney's favorite song of all time, it's a beautiful song about how the girl still believes in him after he's messed her over so many times.  The Beach boys, too, should be noted because their harmonies were so amazing that they could almost make you cry listening to the songs.

The Beatles answered this by releasing the album they had been working on at the time, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", considered by many people to be the greatest album of all time.  It's ALSO a concept album, and when Brian Wilson heard it, he retired from the beach boys, LOL thinking he could never top the beatles.  Anyways, the album is about this fictional band, Sgt. Pepper's lonely hearts club band, who are having this big concert, with everyone famous in attendance (the beatles, dressed up like the band on the cover, are standing beside themselves dressed up as the beatles, watching the lonely hearts club band)... also in attendance were famous movie stars, Jesus, Hitler, etc.  The songs are all based around the theme of this big Concert the lonely hearts club band is putting on, and many of the tracks were amazing things that had never been done before at the time, samples, tape loops, special effects, overdubs, etc.

Another famous one is the Who's "Tommy", it's about a boy who's deaf, dumb, and blind, and  is a pinball wizard.  He throughout the album goes to the pinball championships, plays the pinball wizard (Elton John), and beats him, all blind.  They even released a special "Tommy" Pinball machine that featured little plastic 'blinders' that covered the flippers in the last mode so you were playing blind like Tommy.  There was also a famous movie made about it.

Frank Zappa released "Joe's Garage" about a future world where the police and government controlled everything.

Pink Floyd released a famous album called "The Wall" that was a concept album, and Neil Young last year released an album called "Greendale" which is a concept album about a small california town, and it's residents, and the problems they go through.

Really: Andre ain't doing nothing new.  Hell, even Jimmi Hendrix did almost his exact thing he just did with "Electric Ladyland".  

[Kaidy]

^All great examples Trauma, there's a few there I still need to listen to.

BUT a concept album is very rare in hip hop. I mean, Andre is often called one of the best rappers out there, and he decides to do an album with practically no rap whatsoever, thats a pretty big move. Plus he makes a whole cd about his feelings and experiences with LOVE. Man, with the rest of hip hop including its audience trying so incredibly hard to be hard, that again is a big, and risky move.

Even if you don't like the music, I'm surprised you're not giving Andre any props for experimenting with his eclecticism and just doing something that nobody else in his genre would dream of doing right now.

[PLANT]

I love the Andre album.....Its sick!

[ZILLA THA GOODFELLA]

All great examples Trauma....but NO!

I don't understand how The Beatles or goofy ass Beach Boys even come close 2 soudin like Dre....how many do strate soul shit u know that have an 8 bar rap in da middle? It's more unique than them cats ever was....

U talk about concepts, umm, maybe some songs concepts do sound like what Jimi Hendrix or what Beatles did....but so what?? lol....wats yur point? U like tha Obie Trice album rite? all his concepts been said & done before but he made it pretty unique, it had replay value....ain't nobody sayin Dre's tha 1st one doin it....(altho he is in hip hop)....by U saying it's garbage just cuzz Beatles did somethin like it back in da day shows U dunno what yur talkin bout....

shit's sicc....

[Trauma-san]

It's my opinion, not yours.  Yours may vary.


However.

He's getting credit for shit he didn't do.  He didn't invent 'the concept album', he's not being creative, all he's doing is making funky shit.  I don't even hear much time put into this.  

Like I've said before: Making a fucked up song, then trying to figure out what it means AFTERWARDS is bullshit.  

Also, it may be rare in hiphop, but it's not the first.  The Death Certificate, anybody?  

I don't mind Andre rapping about his life, or singing about being in love, or whatever, but this shit is just abstract, to me it sounds very haphazard, like he just threw some shit together, then tried to make out like he meant it that way from the start. Some of it is orchestrated around themes, but most of it is just nonsense that people are pulling meaning out of.  In my opinion.

As for the Beatles, or the Beach Boys, Please.  The reason I give them props is, ORIGINALITY.  They invented this shit.  I still swear to god that the Beatles helped invent Rap.  NOBODY was doing this shit! Do you realize people weren't even writing their own music before the Beach Boys, and the Beatles?  Think about that shit.  The impact they've had on music is immeasureable.  

Now, with that said, Outkast has made some crazy-ass contributions to rap, too.  I'm not saying Dre sucks.  I think he's one of the greatest rappers of all time.  I'm just saying this album don't do it for me.... and it's not because I don't like the theme, I loved Cee-lo's album which was similar.  I just don't think the album is very good, and I am very into creative, different shit.  This is just shit.  Not different shit.  

[Sol]

"Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", considered by many people to be the greatest album of all time.  It's ALSO a concept album, and when Brian Wilson heard it, he retired from the beach boys, LOL thinking he could never top the beatles.  ".  

Lol, not exactly true. The guy retired because he lived on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol that messed him up, not becasue of the way over rated Beattles.
He actually did an album after Pet Sounds, Smile, which many said would have topped PS, but it never got released in full.
Brian Wilson had more talent in his little finger than Paul Mc.

And the Love Below is one wierd but amazing album.

[Don Jacob]

^ preach

i like the beach boys and actually do think that they were better than the beatles and agree that brian wilson is over paul and john . BUT there are 100 bands that can make that statement, black sabbath, zeppelin, pink floyde, ect. BUT the beatles contributed ALOT more to music than just about every artist before or since , the only other artists that come close are Elvis and Jacko. that's why they get the cred they get.....IMO i'd compare them to RUN DMC....there's a jillion rappers better than Run and DMC and a million dj's better than JMJ, BUT their contribution and influence will always be remembered and appreciated....get it


and about andre's album.....straight up , album of the year, and i like this album EVEN more now that i know it's a concept album......damn that's some DEEP shit for a hip hop artist! Andre proved with this album that he's one of probably only 5 true artists in hip hop right now with this shit.....let's face it rap doesn't get deep like this , props to someone who took a chance and took it this deep musically

and trauma my guy......thanks for schooling everyone , but c'mon man you gots to listen to this album again man....it's brilliant.

[Don Jacob]

..another concept album


...And justice For All