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''Road to Freedom'' is the debut album of
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
band
Young Disciples Young Disciples was a British / American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson ( vocals and keyboards), Marco Nelson (bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (percussion and programming). Their most famous hit was th ...
, the only album the band ever released. Issued in 1991 on the
Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...
label in the UK and on
Polygram PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
in the US, the critically well-received album was influential in the
music genre A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. It is to be distinguished from ''musical form'' and musical style, although in practice these terms are some ...
s of acid jazz and
neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...
. Containing two charting singles, "Get Yourself Together" and "
Apparently Nothin' "Apparently Nothin" is a song by British/American acid jazz band Young Disciples. It features singer Carleen Anderson, who also co-wrote it and was released in 1991 as the second single from their only album, '' Road to Freedom'' (1991). The song ...
", the album itself reached a chart position of number 21. It was on the short list of nominees for the 1992
Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...
and was reissued in 1993 in limited edition with a bonus remix EP of the song "Apparently Nothin'".


Background

The Young Disciples were formed when British duo Femi Williams and Marco Nelson invited American vocalist
Carleen Anderson Carleen Cassandra Anderson (born May 10, 1957) is an American singer and musician. She is known for her work with the Young Disciples and numerous collaborations. Her distinguished solo career began in 1992. She is the acclaimed composer, writer ...
to join them. The trio released two singles, each of which charted separately twice: "Get Yourself Together" at number 68 (1990-10-13) and number 65 (1991-10-05) and "
Apparently Nothin' "Apparently Nothin" is a song by British/American acid jazz band Young Disciples. It features singer Carleen Anderson, who also co-wrote it and was released in 1991 as the second single from their only album, '' Road to Freedom'' (1991). The song ...
" at number 46 (1991-02-23) and number 13 (1991-08-03). A 1992 eponymous EP also charted, reaching number 48 (1992-09-02). ''The Independent'' described "Apparently Nothin'" as "era-defining", indicating that singer Anderson "became one of the most recognisable voices of the soul, jazz-funk movement" of the time and that the emergence of the band along with acts
Soul II Soul Soul II Soul are a British musical collective formed in London in 1988. They are best known for their two major hits; 1989's UK number five and US number eleven " Keep On Movin'", and its follow-up, the UK number one and US number four " Back to ...
, Omar,
Incognito Incognito is an English adjective meaning "in disguise", "having taken steps to conceal one's identity". Incognito may also refer to: Film and television * ''Incognito'' (1937 film), a Danish film * ''Incognito'' (1997 film), an American crime ...
, D'Influence and Galliano "was as groundbreaking an era as black British music has ever known." But in spite of the success of the singles and the album, which charted at number 21, it was the only album the trio ever produced. According to Anderson, the album was a "fluke", as Nelson "never felt comfortable or wanted the role of being an artist".


Release and reception

The album was first released in the UK in 1991 on the label
Talkin' Loud Talkin' Loud was a record label, originally founded by Gilles Peterson in 1990 after he left Acid Jazz Records. The label name is based on Peterson's Dingwalls club night "Talkin' Loud And Sayin' Something", itself a reference to James Brown and ...
. It was later released in the United States on
Polygram Records PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
with some changes in the track list. On the British edition, the songs "All I Have" and "Step Right On" are dub versions, but for the US release they were replaced with vocal versions. The album was re-released as a limited edition in 1993 with an additional disc, a remix EP of "Apparently Nothing." The album was critically well received. ''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' described it as "a masterpiece of understated soul, a seamless blend of samplers and studio musicians and a blueprint for the nascent acid jazz and trip-hop movements." ''
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...
'' listed it as among the ten best albums of 1991, with reviewer Robert Tanzilo noting that " e cream of London's jazz/soul posse get the formula right...." ''
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...
'' stated that " th each track on "Road to Freedom," the road gets a little easier to travel." ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine wrote favorably of the album, stating that it "easily stands the test of time, thanks to clever, well-crafted tunes that are steeped in retro-funk and R&B sensibilities." In 2004, the album was featured at number 84 in an ''
Observer An observer is one who engages in observation or in watching an experiment. Observer may also refer to: Computer science and information theory * In information theory, any system which receives information from an object * State observer in con ...
'' poll of 100 music industry professionals of "The 100 Greatest British Albums". In its review at the time, ''The Observer'' indicated that the album did not reach the sales it deserved as "a record that revels in understated soul and sample-savvy jazz, rare groove and hip hop."


Influence

In spite of underselling, it became a highly influential album in two genres. 2002's ''The Techno Primer'' indicates it was "very influential" in acid jazz, as the band "set the tone for this movement." In the latter half of the 2000s,
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
Trevor Nelson Trevor Ricardo Nelson, MBE (born 7 January 1964) is an English DJ and presenter. Early life Born in the London Borough of Hackney to a family of St Lucian heritage, Nelson attended Central Foundation Boys' Grammar School (now known as Central ...
featured the album as "album of the week", noting that due to the album's combination of influences—"muscular"
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, R&B and
British Hip Hop British hip hop, also known as UK hip hop or UK rap, is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/Hip-Hop. Britis ...
—with "clever, unpredictable productions" and Anderson's "low, smoky vocals", the album "is still deemed to be one of the most important albums to emerge from the acid jazz scene." 2006's ''A Change is Gonna Come'' also cites the album as important in neo soul, including it along with
R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...
's '' R.'',
D'Angelo Michael Eugene Archer (born February 11, 1974), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He first garnered attention after co-producing the single "U Will Know" ...
's ''
Voodoo Voodoo may refer to: Religions * African or West African Vodun, practiced by Gbe-speaking ethnic groups * African diaspora religions, a list of related religions sometimes called Vodou/Voodoo ** Candomblé Jejé, also known as Brazilian Vodu ...
'', Maxwell's '' Urban Hang Suite'',
Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton (; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer and actress. She has been credited for helping to redefine contemporary R&B, pop and hip hop, earning her the nicknames the "Princess of R&B" and " ...
's self-titled final release and
Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...
' ''
Keep the Faith ''Keep the Faith'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on November 3, 1992, by Mercury Records. It is Bon Jovi's last studio album to feature all five original band members as bass guitarist Alec John Such was dism ...
'' as among "the starter kit" for the genre.


Track listing

#"Get Yourself Together" (
Carleen Anderson Carleen Cassandra Anderson (born May 10, 1957) is an American singer and musician. She is known for her work with the Young Disciples and numerous collaborations. Her distinguished solo career began in 1992. She is the acclaimed composer, writer ...
, Marc Nelson, Femi Williams) – 6:13 #"
Apparently Nothin' "Apparently Nothin" is a song by British/American acid jazz band Young Disciples. It features singer Carleen Anderson, who also co-wrote it and was released in 1991 as the second single from their only album, '' Road to Freedom'' (1991). The song ...
" (Anderson, Nelson) – 5:22 #"Funky Yeh Funki (Mek It)" (Nelson) – :40 #"Talkin' What I Feel" (
Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut " The Symphony". He is noted for his distinct voice ...
, Nelson) – 4:08 #"All I Have (In Dub)" (Anderson, Demus, Nelson) – 5:22 #"Move On" (Anderson, Nelson) – 3:29 #"As We Come (To Be)" (Anderson) – 4:35 #"Step Right On (Dub)" (I. Bellow, Nelson, Williams) – 3:56 #"Freedom Suite: (I) Freedom/ (II) Wanting / (III) To Be Free" (Anderson, IG Culture, Demus, Michael Talbot) – 15:58 #"Young Disciples Theme" ( MC Mell'O', Nelson, Williams) – 1:58 ;Bonus tracks ''1993 limited edition bonus disc. All tracks by Carleen Anderson and Marc Nelson.'' #"
Apparently Nothin' "Apparently Nothin" is a song by British/American acid jazz band Young Disciples. It features singer Carleen Anderson, who also co-wrote it and was released in 1991 as the second single from their only album, '' Road to Freedom'' (1991). The song ...
(Edit)" – 3:57 #"Apparently Nothin' (Soul River Edit)" – 3:53 #"Apparently Nothin' (The Re-Rub Edit)" – 3:37 #"Apparently Nothin' (Large Professor Rap Mix)" – 4:07


Personnel

*
Carleen Anderson Carleen Cassandra Anderson (born May 10, 1957) is an American singer and musician. She is known for her work with the Young Disciples and numerous collaborations. Her distinguished solo career began in 1992. She is the acclaimed composer, writer ...
–
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
,
vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
,
horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
s * Maxton G. Beesley, Jr. –
drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*M.C. Bellow –
rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
*Chris Clunn – photography *Demus – arranger,
record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
,
audio mixing Audio mixing is the process by which multiple sounds are combined into one or more channels. In the process, a source's volume level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated or enhanced. This practical, aesthetic, ...
, beats *
Pee Wee Ellis Alfred James Ellis (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 196 ...
–
tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
*Phil Hudson – guitar *
K-Gee Karl Clive Gordon, known by the stage name K-Gee, is a British DJ, producer, rapper and songwriter and former member of the Outlaw Posse. Gordon was brought up listening to reggae by his father and was inspired to become a DJ after listenin ...
–
scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...
, rap *
Masta Ace Duval Clear (born December 4, 1966), known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut " The Symphony". He is noted for his distinct voice ...
– rap * MC Mell'O' – rap *Marc Nelson – organ,
bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, guitar, scratching,
melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usual ...
, beats *
Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of B ...
–
alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...
*Spry –
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
*Swifty – design, typography * Michael Talbot –
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, keyboards,
clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...
,
Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...
*
Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band lead ...
–
trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
* Steve White – drums *Femi Williams – percussion,
drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...
*
Young Disciples Young Disciples was a British / American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson ( vocals and keyboards), Marco Nelson (bass, guitar and organ) and Femi Williams (percussion and programming). Their most famous hit was th ...
– arranger, producer, mixing, concept


Charts


See also

* Acid jazz *''
Brown Sugar Brown sugar is unrefined or partially refined soft sugar. Brown Sugar may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Brown Sugar'' (1922 film), a 1922 British silent film directed by Fred Paul * ''Brown Sugar'' (1931 film), a 1931 ...
'' *
Neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...


References


External links

*
Road to Freedom
' at
Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Accolades: ''Road to Freedom''
at
Acclaimed Music Acclaimed Music is a website created by Henrik Franzon, a statistician from Stockholm, Sweden in September 2001. Franzon has statistically aggregated hundreds of published lists that rank songs and albums into aggregated rankings by year, deca ...
{{Authority control Young Disciples albums 1991 debut albums Talkin' Loud albums