A few years ago (wow, has it really been that long?), when Def Jux was a fledgling new-comer in the land of BackPackHop, I was fortunate enough to get to hop on a tour bus for about an hour with Mr. Lif, El-P and RJD2. Lif and El-Producto were red-eyed and bleary but highly outgoing, and the contrast provided by the quiet, shy and quick-witted RJD2 was highly noticeable, both onstage and off. I recall not being at all impressed either by his Def Jux debut, Deadringer, or his stage presence, which found him rapidly jockeying old funk ‘45s in a fashion only slightly more boring than his cut-and-splice neo-funk album sound. At the time, the RJD2 sound was, to my ears, akin to eating paste-been there, done that.
In the years since Deadringer, the man born Ramblin’ John (aka I Shoulda Been A Wilbury) has broken up with the El-P/Def Jux crew and ventured away from the straight-up DJing on which he made his name. There’s a handful of collaborations and one highly-lauded indierock emotive record in that discography, also, but what matters is this amazing piece of work he’s put out for 2007-The Third Hand.
On it, Ramblin’ John fills a sincere niche suggested by his name, that of the heartfelt blue-eyed soul balladeer. This isn’t the coked-up overstimuli of Young Americans, nor is it the faux-pastiche leatherpants-and-baby-oil sound of Beck’s Midnite Vultures. The Third Hand is RJ’s sincere laying-down of all he has at his disposal, namely smooth, silken vocals, simple moments of well-produced electronic funk that never borders into cheese, and probably several ladies as a result.
To listen to this straight-up, heartfelt, unapologetically sincere record, it’d be easy to miss the perfect songwriting, layered harmonies and utter beauty that accompanies such a simple little album.
This is, specifically, what I mean-a moody, melancholic piece that never veers into over-sappy treacle, RJ’s half-light lament for some good lovin’ is accompanied by a gorgeous, wispy, two-step of a backbeat and a bass line that could fit into a garage track. When he sings “you should ask her/’bout the day she hadâ€, it’s some of the best advice to the men in the audience since, well…ever. And that breakdown? Works well on a Saturday night and a Sunday morning.
It’s always a joy when an artist that’s just come be to labeled “ignorable†finally steps up with something that gets itself so ingrained in your head it won’t let go. It’s fitting, I guess, that 2007 is the year Ramblin’ John stepped up with this record, since it seems 2007 is, musically at least, the year to Get Real or Die Tryin’. This is a year in which soft beats loud, sincerity tops irony, and subtlety in production proves itself to be so much better than all that nu-rave crap. RJD2 paves the way for those seeking solace in something heartfelt and real, the lonely soul rebels who just want to hear something that doesn’t sound like a cop siren being smashed by a sledgehammer for thirty minutes, and it’s a refreshing road to walk.
For the past few months, I’ve been hearing the multi-tracked harmonies from the chorus of “Sweet Piece†over and over and over, as I walk down halls, up stairs, etc. I don’t doubt that it’s due to the ubiquitous nature of the lyrical content (loss and love are always and everywhere), and there’s no disputing RJ as producer/beatmaker/DJ, but, god, that voice like warm honey spreading itself across the background is certainly, certainly the hook here. It would seem, for the first time, there’s an RJD2 album that, without making a huge fuss, has serious sticking power.
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