Track Listing
1. Ferris Wheel - (featuring Vinia Mojica/Marie Daulne)
2. Soul Power
3. Aquarius - (featuring Bilal)
4. Electric Wire Hustler Flower - (featuring Sonny)
5. Hustle, The - (featuring Omar/Dart Chillz)
6. Come Close - (featuring Mary J. Blige)
7. New Wave - (featuring Laetitia Sadier)
8. Star *69 (PS With Love) - (featuring Bilal)
9. I Got a Right Ta - (featuring Pharrell Williams)
10. Between Me, You and Liberation - (featuring Cee-Lo)
11. I Am Music - (featuring Jill Scott)
12. Jimi Was a Rock Star
13. Heaven Somewhere - (featuring Omar/Cee-Lo/Bilal/Jill Scott/Mary J. Blige/Erykah Badu/Lonnie Lynn)
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Bilal, Bobbi Humphrey, Cee-Lo, Ceelo, Common, Dart Chillz, Erykah Badu, Greg Tardy, Jill Scott, Laetitia Sadier, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, Lonnie "Pops"Lynn, Marie Daulne, Mary J. Blige, Nicholas Payton, Omar, Pharrell Williams, Prince, Sonny, Vinia Mojica, Zap Mama | | Distributor: | Universal Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel: Common (rap vocals); Erykah Badu (vocals, vinyl scratches); Cee-Lo, Sunny, Pharrell Williams, Laetitia Sadier, Bilal, Omar, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, Dart Chillz, Vinia Mojica, Marie Daulne (vocals); Dilla (electric guitar, Moog synthesizer, bass, drums, programming); James Poyser (guitar, piano, keyboards); Prince (guitar, keyboards); Jeff Lee Johnson (guitar); Bobbi Humphrey, Damon Bennett (flute); Nicholas Payton (trumpet); Greg Tardy (cornet); Vincent Gardne (trombone); Pino Palladino (bass); Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums); Franklin Walker (percussion); Joe Sinista (vinyl scratches); Soulgo, Ebi Breezy, Tye Tribbett (background vocals).
Producers include: Dilla, James Poyser, Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Karriem Riggins, The Neptunes.
Personnel: Common (rap vocals); Erykah Badu (vocals, programming); Cee-Lo, Sonny, Pharrell Williams, Laetitia Sadier, Bilal, Mary J. Blige, Jill Scott, Lonnie "Pops" Lynn, Dart Chillz, Vinia Mojica, Marie Daulne (vocals); Dilla (electric guitar, Moog synthesizer, bass, drums, programming); James Poyser (guitar, piano, keyboards); Prince (guitar, keyboards); Jeff Lee Johnson (guitar); Bobbi Humphrey, Damon Bennett (flute); Nicholas Payton (trumpet); Greg Tardy (cornet); Vincent Gardne (trombone); Pino Palladino (bass); Ahmir" ?uestlove" Thompson (drums); Franklin Walker (percussion); Joe Sinista (vinyl scratches); Soulgo, Ebi Breezy, Tye Tribbett (background vocals).
Producers include: Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Dilla, James Poyser, The Neptunes, Karriem Riggins.
Zap Mama.
Producers: The Neptunes, Jay Dee, Almir "?uestlove" Thompson, James Poyser,
Karrien Riggins.
Personnel: James Poyser (guitar, piano, keyboards, hand claps); Prince (guitar, keyboards); Jef Lee Johnson (guitar); Nicholas Payton (trumpet); Greg Tardy (cornet); Ahmir Khalib Thompson (drums, hand claps); Tye Tribbett & G.A., Mary J. Blige, Pharrell Williams (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Ahmir Khalib Thompson; Phil Tan; Russell Elevado.
Recording information: AXIS Studios, Philadelphia, PA; Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY; Patchwork Studio, Atlanta, GA; Right Track Recording Studios, New York, NY; Signature Sound, San Diego, CA; Studio A, Dearborn Heights, MI; The Studio, Philadelphia, PA.
When one thinks of progressive/"underground" hip-hop, few names spring to mind as quickly as that of Common, who remains at the vanguard of the sub-genre with his eclectic musical vision and visionary lyricism, never failing to simultaneously innovate and impress. Much is made of Common's crossover appeal to hip rock audiences, and it surely speaks volumes about him that he sounds just as comfortable dueting with Mary J. Blige as he does with Stereolab singer Laetitia Sadler, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.
Common isn't cool because he drops the names of alt-rock saints like Kurt Cobain and records at the legendary Hendrix-associated Electric Ladyland studios. Rather, he's cool because his vision expands out beyond such simple stylistic designations as "rap," "rock," or "R&B." Throughout ELECTRIC CIRCUS, Common bears echoes of everyone from Prince to Marvin Gaye to the aforementioned guitar god (who gets his own homage on the freaky, psychedelicized experimentation of "Jimi Was a Rock Star"), but the important thing is that he melds it all into his own distinctive paradigm.
Firmly out of the underground by the time Electric Circus came out in late 2002, Common takes the vision to the next level, employing high-profile producers ?uestlove, Dilla (Jay Dee), and the Neptunes. It's no surprise that the ?uestlove tracks push the most unclaimed territory. The Roots' Phrenology record, which appeared concurrent with Electric Circus, also flips the script on preconceived notions of beats and rhymes. Frequently the new sound on both records is pushed into a strange, sometimes aggressive, blunted rock/soul hybrid that still pulls the line for able-bodied MCs. Then there's also the ...
Editorial Reviews
...Common opens the tent door to his psychedelic ELECTRIC CIRCUS, following up the Jazz-inflected LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE with a flamboyant, swirling consciousness-rap opus...
CMJ (01/27/2003)
4 stars out of 5 - ...Common's emphasis is more on social and historical awareness...
Uncut (03/01/2003)
...Although he can be self-righteous, scattered, and grim, a team of truly youthful-minded producers is there to color the gray. Rating: A
Entertainment Weekly (12/13/2002)
...[A] masterpiece....ELECTRIC CIRCUS is a record of startling breadth....An astounding record, unhesitatingly recommended...
Mojo (02/01/2003)
3 stars out of 5 - ...ELECTRIC CIRCUS is a wild, vibrant trip billowing with purple-haze guitars, ethereal choruses and warped scratching....Common makes it all fly, breaking hip-hop rules with a freewheeling fearlessness worthy of his guitar-god muse...
Rolling Stone (02/06/2003)
[H]ere the Hendrix-influenced MC spits some of the sickest rhymes of his career. His lyrics slice like a machete through the purple haze concocted by producers...
Vibe
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