As you can see above, there are a LOT of AD projects out there!
As stated before, I have pretty modest goals for this site, but I do have some. One of my goals is for people who were somewhat like me and stumble upon Arrested Development after years of sleeping can find this site and get just about everything they want to know about the music of AD and Speech in one site. I'm not saying I will reach that goal, but it's what I'm shooting for. I mean, let's face it, there isn't a lot out there- according to most Americans, they fell off the face of the earth after Zingalamaduni was released, despite the fact that they have recorded tons of quality music since reuniting. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess, let's go listen to Gucci Mane and Souljah Boy. It doesn't help that the TV show came out and made it even harder to run a simple google search to get updates on the group.
Anyway, the AD discography consists of, by my count, six "proper" studio albums, one EP, four live albums, a remix album, an Internet exclusive live album, an online mixtape, and too many greatest hits compilations to count. So to simplify things a little bit, here is a breakdown of each "unique" album release with some thoughts by me.
THE STUDIO ALBUMS
1992: 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life Of...- The 4-times platinum debut, and the album that they are almost exclusively known for to this day. It's the reason I became a fan, like countless others! Picked it up at age 12 and here I still am, listening to it at least once a month.
1994: Zingalamaduni- Zingalamaduni is African for "sophomore slump." OK, there is no "African" language and it's actually Swahili for "beehive of culture." Some reports place this as going gold, and it is a very good album, but unfortunately it didn't quite measure up to their debut and would be their last full album for 8 years, and the last album with the original lineup. It deserved a much better fate than it received. That said, I love it to this day.
2000: Da Feelin' EP- The comeback, Japan-exclusive EP containing 7 songs. Kind of a way for AD to dip their toes in the water on their comeback trail....
2002: Heroes of the Harvest- The official comeback album, and an album that wasn't even released in the States other than on the official website. I slept on this album twice. Missed it when it first came out, and when I did order it a few years later with a few other AD projects from the site, I loved Among the Trees so much that this didn't see that much play. So I recently revisited it and it really is a great album. It veers of track on a couple of songs, but overall it is strong and I think AD is a little hard on it in the liner notes. Wish I had ponied up and bought it in 2002 as I knew it was out there, but I was a poor college student then, as opposed to the poor college graduate that I am now.....
2004: Among The Trees- Another album released internationally only. While I liked Heroes of the Harvest fine, this to me is the album that said that AD still has a place in modern music and re-hooked me back on the group. Available on the official site as well.
2006: Since The Last Time- This album was released in the US, and was another fine effort that was well received by any critic that actually bothered to listen to it. On par with the very strong Among the Trees in my opinion.
2009: Strong- Their latest album. Yet to receive a physical release in the US, it can be found online everywhere. Another great work. People, stop sleeping.
THE REMIX ALBUM
2003: Extended Revolution- A remix album previously covered here.
THE LIVE ALBUMS
1993: Unplugged- The album version of their MTV concert. Also available on DVD although out of print and ridiculously expensive- how did I miss that release? I need to revisit this one as it's been awhile- when I'm in the mood for a live AD album I reach for one of the two listed below.
2003: Raw and Live: The first live album from the current AD lineup (basically). Outstanding.
2004: Instant Live: Very similar set list and style to the Raw and Live album, I will have more on both of these projects at some point.
2008: Live in Osaka- This will be covered as well, but it was an online-only release that I believe was only available for a limited time on the official site.
2009: Everyday People aka Live in Japan: Just covered this project here.
THE MIXTAPE
Since the Last Time (Mixtape): This project was included free when Since the Last Time was pre-ordered on the AD site, along with an autographed copy of the album, which was a really nice touch. This project will be covered at a later time as well.
I think this leaves little doubt that there is a LOT more to delve into than just the 1992-1994 years. And that doesn't even include the Speech albums.....
2 comments:
thanks for this, and i'm still a huge fan too, but my question is: what's your analysis as to why they broke up? musical or political differences, or both?
also, how come americans weren't interested in their reconstitution eight years later?
Well, to be blunt, we Americans aren't that bright- we like our music spoon fed to us by big corporations! You have to work to find AD music now, and well, Soulja Boy is easy to track down....
As far as the breakup, I really don't have any insight and it'd probably be unfair for me to speculate. I do know that Speech has mentioned that he should have done a better job getting the spotlight on some of the other members, which has been evident during their second run I think. Zingalamaduni failing to find the audience it deserved probably didn't help either.
Thanks for the nice feedback, and thanks for reading!
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