QUESTLOVE'S MUSIC IS HISTORY: THE ALBUM VERSION

Photos courtesy of Discogs Recorded: 1978 Released: 1978 Label: Clouds Records Side A 1. Special To Me 2. My Flame 3. Love Won't Wait 4. Can't Say Goodbye Side B 1. Come To Me 2. What You Won't Do For Love 3. Kalimba Song* 4. Take Me Back To Then 5. Down For The Third Time *-Questlove: "I love the intro but it goes nowhere.  It fools me every time."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: August 1975 Recorded: 1975 Label: ABC/Blue Thumb Records Side A 1. Creole* 2. Chain Reaction 3. I Felt The Love 4. Mellow Out 5. Rainbow Visions Side B 1. Hallucinate 2. Give It Up 3. Hot's It 4. Sugar Cane 5. Soul Caravan *-Questlove: "It's lazy.  I'm not a fan of the Crusaders at all.  And yet there's the fact that DJ Premier and all these cats find good samples.  Maybe there's something to the melody.  But this song doesn't work for me."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: June 1, 1979 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. (You're a) Foxy Lady* 2. Star Walk 3. The Entertainer Side 2 1. Scream 2. Sneaky Freak 3. Tonight *-Questlove: "I remember this as one of the few records I panned as a nine-year old.  Maybe it's because Mom got it for me out of the "cheap bin" on a Woolworth's trip two years after the fact, in 1981.  However, I will also note that my band has taken a liking to "Scream" and "Sneaky Freak."  Not to rabbit-hole, but I guess once Prince made it known to me that this era of GCS was his north star (similar to his preference for the mustache-having, post-sample-ready James Brown hit-or-miss '74-'81 period), it made me hear this record with a fresh set of ears.  But revisionist thinking can be tiring.  Sometimes we need to cop to our original sense.  And so here, officially, I will admit that I hated Star Walk as an album/song/creative direction fo

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: 1977 Label: Epic Records Side 1 1. The Beginning 2. Lemme At It 3. Hot Fire 4. Reach For It 5. Just For You Side 2 1. Omi (Fresh Water) 2. Seachin' My Mind 3. Watch Out Baby! * 4. Diamonds 5. The End *-Questlove: "I feel like a horrible Philadelphian, but I can't get behind Stanley Clarke here.  Is it bad that the song from his solo work that touched me the most is the Bl(acht) Rockian (may I make up a portmanteau?) "Heaven Sent You," his bassless E-minor jawn with Shalamar's Howard Hewitt?" 

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: May 1976 Recorded: December 1975-March 1976 Label: Blue Note Records Side 1 1. Let's Keep It Together 2. Fever* 3. All The Time 4. Stay Still (And Let Me Love You) Side 2 1. Strugglin' 2. Captain Midnite 3. Karmen 4. Night Breeze 5. From Ronnie With Love *-Questlove: "Man. First of all it's "Fever."  I don't trust any song with that vibration."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: September 7, 2018 Label: Roxie Records/BMG Rights Management Side A 1. We Can Get It All Together 2. Low 3. Who Really Are the Monsters? * Side B 1. Raise Vibration 2. Johnny Cash 3. Here To Love Side C 1. It's Enough! 2. 5 More Days 'Til Summer 3. The Majesty of Love Side D 1. Gold Dust 3. Ride 4. I'll Always Be Inside Your Soul *-Questlove: "I don't know if he was trying to get Chromeoized or if he just challenged himself to make a song like this, a Talking Heads move, and I'll give him points for adding congas.  But it goes a little far, though it's almost like he knew he was going to get caught out there."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: March 10, 1976 Recorded: 1975-1976 Label: Gordy Records Side 1 1. Sweet Gypsy Jane* 2. Sweetness in the Dark 3. Up the Creek (Without a Paddle) 4. China Doll Side 2 1. Mary Ann 2. Dream World (Wings of Love) 3. Paradise *-Questlove: "Not great, though I'm not mad at this song.  It first came to my attention on a Soul Train episode, and it's a really good vocal performance.  This has to be the same house band that was on A Song For You .

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: July 3, 1974 Recorded: 1973-1974 Label: Casablanca Records Side 1 1. Up For The Down Stroke* 2. Testify 3. The Goose 4. I Can Move You (If You Let Me) Side 2 1. I Just Got Back 2. All Your Goodies Are Gone 3. Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good 4. Presence of a Brain *-Questlove: "Or I could have picked "Ride On," or "What Comes Funky," or "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples," or "Do That Stuff," or whatever.  I celebrate their entire catalog."

Photos courtesy of Discogs Released: August 25, 1982 Recorded: July 1981-June 1982 Label: Warner Bros. Records Side 1 1. Wild and Loose* 2. 777-9311 3. OnedayI'mgonnabesomebody Side 2 1. The Walk 2. Gigolos Get Lonely Too 3. I Don't Wanna Leave You *-Questlove: "Prince wasn't even a star yet, but he was making music this amazing.  In eight minutes he provides a documentary with some shady bad characters.  Are they gangsters?  Are they musicians?  Are they the ones your mama told you about?  Not to mention the genius way you can hear sexy socialites talk about Morris in one ear and you can hear Jesse, Terry, Jerome and Morris talk about it in the other ear, hard panned.  It's like Robert Altman.  Another film reference: it's the Citizen Kane of '80s funk."