Fan footage of D'Angelo in Stockholm last night
One of the greatest voices in of the last 20 years is D’Angelo. On just two albums, 1995’s ‘Brown Sugar’ and 2000’s ‘Voodoo’, he formed soul/R&B as a vital force, singing with a tenderness and force that put him in the same league as the great of the 1970s.
Then, he went away for a decade. There were rumours about studio time with everyone from Prince to Nile Rogers to Q-Tip and talk about how far off the rails he had gone, but he hasn’t appeared live since 2000, nor granted an interview, nor released anything bar an occasional dribble of demos.
Late last year, news came that he was touring Europe for the first time since Clinton was in the White House. So, I dutifully bought tickets, with a slight sense of trepidation – Michael Eugene Archer possibly overcome his demons, let alone make an in-the-flesh appearance live up to expectations?
Thankfully, the video footage shot by a fan of his opening dates at the vast Filadelfiakyrkan church in Stockholm suggests he killed it. Above Devil’s Pie and Chicken Grease, below is Shit Damn Motherfucker. Get ready for the return.
