| Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| Paul Riser | Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements, Orchestral Arrangements |
| Raphael Saadiq | Composer, Producer, Horn Arrangements |
| Mathieu Bitton | Art Direction |
| Gerry "The Gov" Brown | Engineer |
| Michelle Holme | Art Direction |
| Calvin Turner | Horn Arrangements |
| Chuck Brungardt | Producer, Engineer |
| Marlon Marcel | Engineer |
| Taura Stinson | Composer |
| Alex Nakanishi | Personal Assistant |
This is only Raphael Saadiq's second album. Yet, the 45-year-old musician is no fly-by-night talent. He was one of the founding members of Toni! Toni! Tone! and later joined one of the finest hip-hop groups of the 90's, A Tribe Called Quest. He also garnished a name for himself as a great composer and producer for singers like Mary J. Blige, John Legend, Joss Stone and TLC. Raadiq is also very proficient, musically. He can play a myriad of instruments like Prince and Lenny Kravitz, thanks to multi-track recording. And he also has a keen eye and ear on the great music of the past. Now, Raadiq has given his own stamp to that music and upgraded it on "Stone Rollin'". This album has throwback written all over it, right down to the cover photo of the nerdy 60's kids watching Saadiq, continental suit and all. However, what really draws you into this is the music. The lead-off track, "Heart Attack", with its thumping bass and charging guitars, sounds like an updated version of Sly Stone's "Dance To The Music". Meanwhile, "Radio" could have beebn a Smokey Robinson tune circa 1966 while "Movin' Down The Line" is the kind of melody that Junior Walker could've sung if he got his hands on a synth or programmer in 1968. He even throws in a little cocktail jazz in "Day Dreams" while "Over You" sounds like a Lenny Kravitz song with all its layered mellotrons. But the most surprising tune here is the title track, with its rumbling bass line and its sobering undercurrent, this sounds like an outtake from Bobby Bland's classic album, "Two Steps From The Blues". With performers like Janealle Monae giving more of a positive voice to "neo-soul", Raphael Saadiq is up there in a big way. This is only his second solo album but it's one of the finest records to be heard this year. Saadiq deserves to be a star and when you hear "Stone Rollin'", you'll understand why he should be one.
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Posted May 10, 2011
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Editorial Reviews
All Music Guide - Andy Kellman
Stone Rollin', Raphael Saadiq's second Columbia album, cuts straight to the chase. It begins with a tambourine-accented pounding groove à la Sly & the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music," adding grinding rhythm guitar and making a plea of a different kind: one of co-dependent desperation, served up Holland-Dozier-Holland style. Indeed, Stone Rollin' is a little less clean-cut than 2008's The Way I See It, tending to veer from pure mid-'60s Motown for a more expansive approach that incorporates a number of late-'60s and early-'70s sounds, including Holland-Dozier-Holland's grittier post-Motown work and early Philly soul, not to mention an apparent nod to Ray Charles on ...