D’Angelo/NY, USA 2015 & more

D’Angelo, the solitary artist who represents neo-soul. This 4-disc collection primarily features performances from his 2015 shows at Forest Hills Stadium in New York and his 2016 show at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. It captures the intense blend of funk, soul, and rock that characterized his complete comeback after a long hiatus with “Black Messiah.” The highlight is not only D’Angelo’s vocals, but also the overwhelming groove created by the interplay of his powerful rhythm section, guitar, keyboards, and horns. Disc-by-disc details are as follows: Disc 1/2: A high-quality audience recording of the live performance at Forest Hills Stadium in New York from the first leg of his Second Coming Tour in the US. It’s truly impressive how D’Angelo meticulously and groovily weaves together his beautiful yet funky songs. In “Sugah Daddy,” the band delivers a 45-beat unified rhythm section, surpassing Prince’s record of 25. And as a bonus, it includes soundboard recordings that were exclusively distributed on Spotify. The only live performance of The Door from the album Black Messiah can be found here, and the performance of Prince’s She’s Always In My Hair are incredibly cool. Ain’t That Easy Vanguard Theme Betray My Heart 17:05 Spanish Joint Really Love The Charade Brown Sugar Sugah Daddy/Encore Break Till Its Done (Tutu) Untitled (How Does It Feel) Forest Hills Stadium, New York June 21, 2015 Betray My Heart Really Love The Door She’s Always In My Hair Spotify, New York 2015 Disc 3/4 D’Angelo finished his Second Coming Tour with a performance in Austin on November 6, 2015, and in 2015 he performed live in Australia and Japan on a limited basis. This recording captures a live performance from March 21, 2016, at the Sydney Opera House, and features a superb audience recording with remastered sound, removing noise between songs. The setlist is drastically different from the Second Coming Tour, which is quite shocking. Many of the songs have different arrangements, and the opening track, Devil’s Pie, is mind-blowing. The cover of Funkadelic’s Red Hot Mama is also a highlight. And, surprisingly, Prince’s She’s Always In My Hair is also played with great flair. It doesn’t end with Untitled, but continues with the cool cutting of Left & Right, the intense funk of Chicken Grease, Quincy Jones-esque Razzmatazz-style cutting, and a mix of various traditional phrases, reminiscent of, or perhaps even better than, the closing of Prince’s Sign o’ the Times tour’s Beautiful Night. This could be considered one of the pinnacles of D’Angelo’s playing. It would also be fun to listen to it while imagining that this was the setlist for D’Angelo’s Japan tour. Devil’s Pie Red Hot Mama [Funkadelic] Feel Like Makin’ Love [Roberta Flack] Really Love The Charade Brown Sugar Back To The Future She’s Always In My Hair [Prince] Untitled (How Does It Feel) Left & Right Chicken Grease The Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia March 21, 2016.