D’Angelo / TN, USA 2012 & more

D’Angelo and Questlove’s performance at the 2012 Bonnaroo Festival was incredible! This release features a complete recording of the show, captured via a superb audience source that rivals the immersive quality of a soundboard recording. The lineup is simply staggering: members of The Roots (including Questlove) joined by D’Angelo’s backing band—featuring Jesse Johnson, Pino Palladino, and Eric Leeds! Just imagine the sound they created together. They covered tracks by Jimi Hendrix, the Ohio Players, Led Zeppelin, Sly & the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield, The Beatles, and The Time. While the only Prince-related song was by The Time, their performance delivered a funk sound that felt even more “Prince-like” than Prince himself; the other covers were deep cuts that Prince likely wouldn’t have chosen. It is a top-tier live performance—deeply soulful, funky, and infused with the spirit of Prince. Disc 2 serves as a bonus collection of D’Angelo covering Prince’s songs. It begins with rehearsal recordings from Carnegie Hall in 2013; these are soundboard recordings, though Questlove’s commentary occasionally interjects. Included are an incredibly cool “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” and “1999,” plus a hip-hop-infused take on “Pop Life.” (Note: While D’Angelo performed “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” at that show, he may have held back on “Pop Life” because Citizen Cope and Alice Smith performed it.) Also featured are “The Ballad of Dorothy Parker” and a “Piano & A Microphone”-style demo of “Venus de Milo.” Finally, the disc concludes with a brilliant soundboard recording of “Sometimes It Snows in April.” June 9, 2012 (actually 12:15am on June 10th, 2012) Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music Festival Disc 1 01. Intro 02. Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland) (Jimi Hendrix) 03. Pride and Vanity (Ohio Players) > Players Balling (Ohio Players) 04. Funky Dollar Bill (Ohio Players) 05. Hit It and Quit It (Ohio Players) 06. What Is and What Should Never Be (Led Zeppelin) 07. Babies Making Babies (Sly and the Family Stone) > Hollywood Squares (Bootsy Collins) 08. Mother’s Son (Curtis Mayfield) 09. Chicken Grease (tease) > Mother’s Son (Curtis Mayfield) 10. Power of Soul (Band of Gypsys) 11. She Came In Through the Bathroom Window (The Beatles) Disc 2 01. My Summertime Thang (The Time) > Jam Bonus: 02. It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night – 1999 (Carnegie Hall Rehearsal 2013) 03. Pop Life (Carnegie Hall Rehearsal 2013) 04. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker 05. Venus De Milo 06. Sometimes It Snows In April (Feat. Princess, The Tonight Show 2016)