Unlike books, you can usually judge music by its cover. I can stumble across something like this:

and know there’s a fairly strong chance that I will not like it. When I received a copy of Raphael Saadiq’s The Way I See It, I was immediately prejudiced against it based on its cover art.

The first thought I had with this was “snooze fest.” It instantly screamed “wanna-be throwback jazz artist,” but then everything changed when I put it on.

This record is absolutely fantastic. I am a total fanatic for the 60′s Motown sound and this album sounds like it was authentically recorded during that era. The music, vocal harmonies, beats and even production are such a throwback that I am floored that artists can still make music like this today that doesn’t seem campy.

After doing a little more research on Raphael, I learned that he was the founding member of the 90′s group Tony! Toni! Tone!. I don’t know about you, but I fricken loved Tony! Toni! Tone!; their music was a staple on all those mix tapes I recorded off of the radio back in the early 90′s! (“Feels Good” – come on, that song is still great!)

If you are like me and love artists like Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops and all the other classic Motown legends, you owe it to yourself to give this record a spin.

Listen to:
“Sure Hope You Mean It”

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“Just One Kiss [feat. Joss Stone]”

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