D'Angelo ... A story so Far.
If someone asks me, "what was the best live concert you've ever attended?", I'd have to go for
D'Angelo
at the 2000 North Sea Jazz Festival (The Hague).
At that point I had seen quite some
nu - soul performers and often these shows were fine but ... that's
all ... they were fine.
I guess, that also was my expectation when the MC announced D ... the lights went out and D'Angelo
and a 9 or 10 piece band (my memories lets me down here) climbed the stage.
I even think a lot of the 1000's of people present had somewhat the same feeling I did.
About five minutes later, something very different was going on. People were shouting, screaming,
wiggling and dancing to something that, even now, eight years later, I have difficulties with to describe.
Can a concert be perfect? Yes, after that evening it could.
D'Angelo delivered a
soul powercloud, a masterclass mixture of
funk,
hiphop and
soul that lifted the
audience to orgasmic heights.
But that was than ... I suppose every attendee on that warm saturday night agreed on one thing.
We all just witnessed the new Marvin Gaye, the new James Brown, the new Prince at work and each
track he would launch over the next couple of years would be a pearl on his highness' crown.
This man simply could not create something bad.
It stopped with these thoughts though ... and after the Voodoo masterpiece, D'Angelo's career flatlined.
And what, at first seemed a well overthought PR and media stunt (keeping D quiet for a while and
return with the power of an atomic bomb), turned out to be the ugly reality.
D'Angelo was not coming back !
So far ... Why ... So Far?
The only life signs from the once,
nu - soul prince were from a very different character and all had
something to do with court houses and attourneys.
On the evening of september 18th, 2003, D'Angelo was seriously injured in a car crash when his
Hummer ran off the road and overturned. And although he has fully recovered from the accident,
it went down all the way from that point.
A three year suspended jail sentence on a cocaine charge stemming from a traffic stop, fines of
1.000$, a revoked license for 90 days and a nine day suspended jail sentence for driving with a
suspended license and driving under influence, more drivers license suspensions on DUI charges
were now filling up his list of records.
Well known fact ... D'Angelo suffered from a serious alcohol problem and whatever really
happened and why it came to this ... no none really knows.
Did D have enough after the 2000 success ? Was it because this multi creative human being was
fed up with everything 'around' the music industry while all he wanted to do was sing his songs
and perform? Was he impeded in his creativity or was D'angelo not able to handle the stardom?
As said ... who knows?
It's 2008 now and no sign of D'Angelo.
Or is there a small sprinkle of hope? Virgin suddenly came with a D'Angelo collection titled :
D'Angelo ... the best so Far. What the ... SO FAR? Why so far? What do you think?
Two words intriguing me ... so far.
I certainly hope we'll once have the opportunity again to rush out for his new work. And a rush it
will certainly be.
D'Angelo possesses something that's unique in every way ... he simply makes me happy.
And that's my story about D ... so far.
> An essential update about D'Angelo
