A Memory of bliss...

[sdldawn]

PM Dawn's "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" — the first single from their 1991 debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The topian Experience — posited new ways in which hip-hop could be combined with pop and other outside influences. Because the song was mellow, lush, and melodic, and because it had virtually no connection to the streets of urban America, it was dismissed in hardcore rap circles (most famously by Boogie Down Productions' KRS-One) as nothing but another diluted pop sellout. However, "Set Adrift" really had nothing to do with the over-simplified lyrics, obvious posturing, or hardly altered samples that informed the biggest pop-rap breakthroughs in the early '90s. The song fused samples from new romantic group Spandau Ballet's lush pop ballad "True" with a commonly sampled hip-hop drum track and urban soul vocals cast in multiple overdubs. It was a sort of fusion that hadn't really been attempted before, and that's why most critics gave the group such glowing reviews. PM Dawn was also a bit more serious and spiritual than most rap outfits, sort of the flip side of De La Soul's easygoing hip-hop hippie vibe; the lyrics of "Set Adrift" were full of Eastern-tinged, cosmic philosophizing that fit perfectly into the sonic background. Specifically, the song was about letting go of personal attachments once they had outlived their importance, allowing them to take their place in the recesses of memory, where they may or may not be recalled. Not the sort of subject matter most hip-hop groups were taking on, which gave PM Dawn a perspective as unique as their sound. Audiences responded en masse, as "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" hit number one in the fall of 1991.


Allmusic gave this album 5 out of 5 stars.

[sdldawn]

It may not have been embraced by the entire hip-hop community, but P.M. Dawn's ponderously titled debut Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience was a startling reimagination of the music's possibilities. In the post-De La Soul age, hip-hop seemed open to all sorts of eccentrics, but P.M. Dawn was still difficult for purists to accept: They were unabashed hippies whose sound and sensibility held very little street appeal, if any. Of the Heart... is soaked in new age spirituality and philosophical introspection, and a song title like "To Serenade a Rainbow" is likely to raise eyebrows among more than just skeptical b-boys. It's true that there's some occasional sappiness and navel-gazing, but it's also true that the group's outlook is an indispensable part of its musical aesthetic, and that's where Of the Heart... pushes into the realm of transcendence. It still sounds revolutionary today, although you'd have to call it a Velvet Revolution: It's soft and airy, with ethereal vocal harmonies layered over lush backing tracks and danceable beats. The shimmering ballads "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" (built on an unlikely sample of Spandau Ballet's "True") and "Paper Doll" were the hits, but they aren't quite representative of the album as a whole. Some tracks, like "Comatose" and "A Watcher's Point of View (Don't 'Cha Think)," are surprisingly funky and driving, and there's also an even more explicit nod to the dancefloor in the Todd Terry hip-house collaboration "Shake." The more reflective raps ("Reality Used to Be a Friend of Mine," "Even After I Die," "In the Presence of Mirrors") strike a fascinating balance between those sensibilities, and there's still little else like them. In the end, Of the Heart... is enormously daring in its own way, proving that pop, R&B, and hip-hop could come together for creative, not necessarily commercial, reasons.

[Hero1]

seriously because i wasnt there when it came out..i cant believe it was a hit..it was so brilliant..so original..so different..

[DJ Detroit Butcher]

Originally posted by HieroHero@Dec 14 2004, 10:45 PM
so original..so different..
Yeah, because nobody ever used that "ashleys roachclip" beat, ever before. :cool:

But that song appears on my countdown tonight of the top 100 songs of 1990-1994 why don't ya tune in http://70.84.73.110:8000/listen.pls

[Hero1]

actually i was talking about the album..of the heart.. listen to that..it came out in 91..shit nothin sounded it like it then..nothin sounds like it today

[sdldawn]

Originally posted by HieroHero@Dec 14 2004, 09:59 PM
actually i was talking about the album..of the heart.. listen to that..it came out in 91..shit nothin sounded it like it then..nothin sounds like it today
Right-0


I bought the tape when it first came the scene...



pappper doollllll

[Hero1]

that idea of "of the heart revisited" be had is so dope.. if they did the songs again just to make em a bit more fresh..i mean when they did paper doll at that concert at shine it sounded sooooo goood :bowdown: :bowdown:

[sdldawn]

Originally posted by HieroHero@Dec 14 2004, 10:54 PM
that idea of "of the heart revisited" be had is so dope.. if they did the songs again just to make em a bit more fresh..i mean when they did paper doll at that concert at shine it sounded sooooo goood :bowdown: :bowdown:
I heard Die Without You live with an acoustic guitar... always wanted to hear a studio verison of that..

maybe a lil' of a distant piano in the background...


Be's voice goes amazing with live instruments anyway

very organic..

[Chief]

roflmao..i thought you posted orgasmic there sd, wow..what does bes voice do to you sir?..i had to reread it again....lololol

[Hero1]

im sure soncheynnes very orgasmic for be...if the right person is grabbing his nuts... :kekeke:

[Chief]

LOL

[Harmeister]

There's only one "man" who grabs his own nuts, and we can all be thankful it isn't be (and I use the term "man" semi-loosly since we don't really know, now do we? and I'm not going to be the one to do the checking).

[spidey]

Amen to that, Bro!

[sdldawn]

Originally posted by Dr. Johny Fever@Dec 15 2004, 04:31 PM
roflmao..i thought you posted orgasmic there sd, wow..what does bes voice do to you sir?..i had to reread it again....lololol
:kekeke: :roll:

nah, i meant the organic sound of a guitar.. natural instruments



i'll be more careful next time..

haha it looks funny now