"Philadelphonic" is a huge disappointment after "Yeah it's That Easy," which was by far the best G-Love yet- from start to finish. The great thing about G-Love is that his music seems to mature with every album he produces and there was a noticeable growth from the first to the third albums. "Philadelphonic" takes a step backwards with songs that are not only mainstream MTV hits, but a bit too reminiscent of the early '90s Beastie Boys. The biggest problem I have with this album, is that it's missing that raw quality which makes G-Love, well, G-Love.

The artist quotes Bob Dylan as his "teacher" and my advice to him would be: Bust out Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks," give it another good listen and try to produce more songs like "Gimme Some Lovin." We won't be sorry.

Excellent Listening
Philly born and bred artist G. Love artfully blends all sorts of modern styles to deliver his own brand of uptempo music. G. Love delivers a blend of urban hip hop and soulful acoustic blues in this fresh and timeless album. His infinite musical influences create a easy mix of sounds with a funky/cool fusion of blues-based playing, rap vocals, jazz and rock. "Philadelphonic" features groovin' tunes like their upbeat single "Rodeo Clowns." Enjoy the sweet, folksy, guitar picking "Give Me Some Lovin'." Or try the energetic, stylish "Dreamin'." Another good track is "Kick Drum," a relaxed, chilling song. With subjects of love, loss, and fun, this album is perfect as mellow yet funky background music.
OK I will admit I haven't heard a band quite like this in a while. They sound good but the lead singers lyrics are not that good. His voice is nice though, but their kind of music would never get played on tv or radio. No wonder why I never heard of them. The band plays a cool lounge sound but like I said before its a little too unique to really appriciate.

go listen - this is a GREAT album !
I have discovered this album 2-3 years ago during a trip to Canada ; since then, all my friends have bought it and it is in heavy rotation in all of our homes.
Do yourself a favour : go and buy it ! It is innovative, groovy, soulful, clever, and litterally shouts musicianship, great songwriting and band tightness (it's obvious these guys really play TOGETHER ; I went to see them at a show in Paris : wow !!! what a band, and what a show ... one of my best concerts ever).
In my humble opinion, WAY superior to "Yeah, that's easy" from the same band, which is a nice CD but nowhere in the same league than Philadelphonic. Again GO and buy it. NOW. Peace.

Another Nice CD from a Great Band
With G looking a lot like Elvis on the back of this cd, things seem to be kicked into highgear on this outing, offering many lovely cuts that are some of the best songs the band has ever conjured up with their magical melange of rap, folk, blues and rock. The cd gets started on a good note with No Turning Back, a typical rock song, but tinged with the band's special recipe of sauce. Dreamin' follows up as an even stronger track. It's uplifting and merry, encouraging the listener "Dreams are like fish, you've got to keep on realin'." Roaches is another good track, serving as a prelude to the best song on the disc, Rodeo Clowns. This is the single from this cd, and for once, I could agree with this selection as the single. It's undeniably smooth and catchy and just really sweeps you off your feet into a dancing sunset party, "but the women keep on dancing with the clowns." Numbers is a spiritual track that I enjoy immensely as well. These opening 5 songs make up an astoundingly strong quintet to commence and sustain the music of any cd. The cd begins to lose steam a bit after numbers, but there are a few other good songs like the humorous Kick Drum, and Honor and Harmony. Philadelphonic, overall, is a really good record, and I think it's well worth your time.
It's not terribly surprising that G. Love and Special Sauce were tapped to fill in for Sugar Ray when the band dropped out of Woodstock '99. It's not simply because of the smooth, muscle-shirted frontmen, but also because the same kind of easy soul, funk, and rap influences wash over their stronger cuts. The calypsolike "Rodeo Clowns" on Philadelphonic feeds on that radio-friendly vibe, all sunshine and broken hearts. Unfortunately, that cut is one of the few high points this time out. While it's nice to see G. Love step away from emulating Will Smith, which sank Yeah, It's That Easy, the answer to stronger material is not to try and channel Jamiroquai through Love's nasal Philly-soaked stoner raps ("Dreamin'"). But even more than that, this boy needs to get away from spacey soul jams, and fast--"Relax" sounds like G. fell asleep with a mouthful of syrup and woke up in love. --Jason Josephes