A Seat at the Table

Sister of Beyoncé! If Beyoncé (or Jay-Z) is on the list, there's another relative for the version of me who remembered to track relatives. (Right now I only remember the Buckleys & Shankar/Joneses, but I know there are more. Highly disproportionate!!!)

As for Solange, I didn't like her first singles when they came out (this is her 3rd album, so probably that was around 2008), but maybe we both have changed some since then. I think she got more jazzy. I still feel pretty "meh" about this, though. When my favorite parts are by Lil Wayne I know an album is not for me. The lyrics are fine, maybe even good (generally about identity/racism), but the delivery is very slow... chill... yet high-pitched... I like the music, which is kinda funky and bleep-bloopy at times, but I don't like slow high-pitched singing (by any gender)!!

Slur count = 9.

Highlight: the song title 'Interlude: Dad Was Mad'

This was nice and liked the spoken word inserts. It felt retro soul but also modern R&B at the same time.

A Seat At The Table was a pretty decent R&B album. I never knew who Solange was or about her music but i am definitely well aware of her older sister's music (that older sister being Beyonce) and it is pretty evident that they are sisters since their music is certainly very similar to each other, each having that poppy R&B sound. Overall, i did like the songs on offer, they were nice to listen to and there wasn't one i would consider bad, however, I think that this album doesn't really have any stand out tracks. Every track here just kinda adds to the album's vibe rather than being good to listen to on their own. This album is decent but that's all it is.
Best Song: Cranes In The Sky
Worst Song: F.U.B.U.

Weirdly feels like a 90s R&B record, right down to the interludes. Listening to A Seat at the Table, I’m immediately hooked by the minimalist neo-soul vibe and Solange’s airy vocals. It’s a super cohesive, well-crafted project that wears its message of Black empowerment on its sleeve. "Cranes in the Sky" is a total standout, the perfect mix of chill production and deep lyrics, and it’s easy to see why this is considered a modern classic.

That said, I get why some people aren't fully sold on it. The tempo is so laid-back that it can occasionally drag, and I found myself wishing for a few more catchy hooks to shake things up. Also, while the spoken-word segments definitely add to the message, they really kill the momentum and get a bit repetitive after a few listens.

Don't Wish Me Well was the only song that stood out in a formless sea of pretty vocals.

Oh man. I've always heard this album's great, but I've never been a big R&B fan.

But listening to it now. I get it. It's incredibly smooth. A little jazzy at times with songs like Where Do We Go, a lot of soul and R&B. Just a great vibe throughout the whole thing.

Definitely an album I'll go back to and pick apart.

It's better than I expected, but I'm not sure it's special.

HOLY SHIT - they selected this album but there is no Lemonade by Beyonce? No Blonde by Frank Ocean? That is extremely wild. Those albums were released the same year. Blonde is a masterpiece that resonates over culture and music to this day, and Lemonade was an extremely massive hit that moved mountains when it was released.

They selected 3 albums from 2016 and while Blackstar absolutely deserves to be here, they easily could have dropped their FIFTH Leonard Cohen album and included Blonde - an album you absolutely need to hear before you die.

Even though I'm almost 850 albums in, I'm considering just stopping. This project has lost all legitimacy.

didnt really enjoy this on AM top 100 either, maybe the message is just missed on me but i just felt like this dragged a lot. I say this as someone who would actively describe themselves as "woke" but this kinda feels like its here because its "woke" and not because its a good album. i find the songs to be just a bit boring and dont really enjoy her voice that much

1/5

Let's get the one detail out of the way when discussing Solange that is gonna loom over. She is indeed the younger sister of Beyoncé. In fact, she started as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child before signing to their father's record label, and her first solo release was very much in line with the hip-hop-inspired R&B of the era her sister thrived in. But that's where the comparisons largely stop. Solange followed up with a more tasteful retro-throwback record and subsequent EP, and then this record won a ton of critical acclaim. So, what did we get with A Seat at the Table?

Well, this is the kind of record that I feel is going to work wonders in terms of the content more than the presentation. With that said, let's start with that content. If there's one aspect that remains true throughout the listen, Solange is direct in her social commentary, sprinkling in both well-spoken connecting interludes and some surprisingly poignant guest verses from Lil' Wayne on "Mad" and the team-up of BJ the Chicago Kid and The-Dream on "F.U.B.U.". That commentary in question being healing and self-empowerment, by black women, for black women, reclaiming an inner peace in spite of a world that would choose to ignore, erase, or marginalize them. Now, I have to admit that I'm not the intended audience - I'm a white guy, plain and simple. But that doesn't mean I can't respect and even appreciate the plight, especially with how straightforward and insightful Solange cuts into. From dealing with the frustration to explain herself to a friend on "Mad", to being done compromising herself to satisfy other people on "Don't You Wait" and "Don't Touch My Hair", to carving out her own path and choosing to leave people behind on "F.U.B.U.", the larger theme is Solange moving on, not caring if a white audience that may have loved her previous work won't get on board with this new direction. On the flip side, with cuts like "Junie" opposite and uncredited André 3000 about cultural appropriation, and her mother's spoken interlude "Tina Taught Me" about how black positivity is not the same as reverse racism, it's clear she's not against white culture enjoying or embracing her music... it's just that they're not going to be the focus anymore in her life. This album is very acute in its uncompromising position, probably the closest I could get to feeling how black audiences feel when culture ignores them entirely. I don't mind being on the outside looking in to try and understand.

Also helping matters is how much I like the production throughout this record - the sharper snares that crop up on "Rise" as Solange accepts her own vulnerability, the presence of cello on "Cranes in the Sky" as she searches for her escape, the sandy yet blocky beat on "Mad", the brash piano strokes against the kick beat on "Where Do We Go", the heavy presence of synths and supple bass on "Don't You Wait" that also show up on the funky "Junie" and the sharper electronic tinge of "Don't Wish Me Well". Even if I wasn't much into the wiry synth on "Don't Touch My Hair", it's still got a nice driving beat as Solange shared her cadence with Sampha.

But, this is where the presentation comes in, and I wish I could connect more. Solange herself has a very pleasant voice to listen to, yet I didn't feel as gripped by her as much as I'd like to be. It really feels like the content was the focus of this record more than any performance to help elevate or accentuate it. That problem also feeds into the pacing of this album. While it runs under an hour, it feels longer, between Master P's interludes in the second half that come off oddly juxtaposed to the more meditative pace of the surrounding tracks, and the penultimate "Scales" that ends things on an oddly downbeat note, even if I liked the interplay between Solange and Kelela.

Then again, it's possible the target audience for this record won't care about pacing or atmosphere, and that's fine. After all, Solange established on this record that she does not care what I or anyone else thinks about her musical direction, which, again, I liked for the most part. A Seat at the Table is the sort of thought-provoking, well-produced experience that can lead into a larger discussion. Even if I feel the album could be trimmed down for a more effective impact, that doesn't stop how poignant and forward-looking Solange has established herself.

285/1089 - The overall vibe/tone of the album is cool and Solange is a great singer but the songs are a bit too repetitive for my taste. Not sure if this is a high 3 or a low 4. Idk if this is on my end but things seem to be clipping/very fuzzy when they get loud.

Warm relaxed neo-soul jams with organic lush instrumentation and deep RnB grooves paired with some high tech production and computer drum tracks. Horns, guitars, keyboards, and lots of backup singers - it all has a chilled out hanging out feel to it. Nice features from Q Tip and Lil Wayne add to this feel. Solange's vocals are fluttering falsettos and altos, whispered and sung in fleeting lines that float on the beats. Ephemeral and ethereal, it's all vibes and no hooks - there's nothing as good as the amazing 'Losing You' on here, but it's a jazzy laid back time. Interludes are annoying, trite vox pop rambling cliches.

1.66

Solange’s musical style is not one that resonates with me much. But I am impressed with the seriousness of intent behind this album. Instead of just vacuous pop she has created a piece of work that uplifts, educates, proclaims pride in herself and her community. Well-done.

I had never listened to Solange before this, so far on this list there haven’t been many artists that I hadn’t at least heard in passing. This was a pleasant surprise. R&B is probably my least listened to genre. I should say modern R&B, I like older R&B artists like music from early Motown. Anything from the 90s on up though has not clicked for me. That being said, I very much enjoyed this album. I only listened through one time so I didn’t pick up on all of the lyrical themes, but instrumentally it was lovely. I don’t know for sure but it sounded like a lot of real instruments being used. I will definitely listen to this again.

No la conocía de nada, o al menos no la había escuchado nunca o con la suficiente atención. Suena muy bien, algunas canciones tienen arreglos que me han gustado bastante además de su voz. Me he guardado "Don't you wait, Borderline y Don't wish me well.

Absolutely terrible modern R&B.

Definitely a deserved classic of the 2010s. Powerful and catchy album with an absolutely STACKED set of collaborators.