“Silk Sonic’s debut album is a talented throwback to the 70’s, here’s my personal review.” -- Bella Schainker, 8th Grade
According to The Appalachian Online, the record couldn’t be more aptly named as An Evening with Silk Sonic, as duo Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak both possess incredible talent for making intimate, unforgettable music. With a touch of “24K Magic,” vintage color palettes, roller skates, luxurious production sets and brown velvet suits, Silk Sonic pays tribute and takes us back to the ’70s.
Starting off with the “Silk Sonic Intro”, the short song sets the bar high, involving Bootsy Collins who is introduced as the evening’s “special guest” and makes many appearances throughout the record, something that shapes together the whole album. The Appalachian Online states that this song serves as the show opener, with Collins sporting his signature look while introducing the band that he named for Mars and Paak. Collins is originally acknowledged in the Silk Sonic intro as the ‘host’ although it almost feels like his name was only used for publicity to get the album off its feet. This doesn’t overthrow how the opener shines light on the band's talent that can be seen even in such a short introduction to the album. 6/10.
The second song “Leave The Door Open” topped charts and caught eyes, particularly the eyes of the grammys. As said by The Source, critically-acclaimed album An Evening With Silk Sonic, earned nominations in Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song categories. The song became Silk Sonic’s first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, spending two non-consecutive weeks at #1 and 18 consecutive weeks in the top 10. Of the band’s four nominations, Silk Sonic won two grammys, one for best R & B performance, and another for record of the year. The song itself deserves the attention it’s been given and is in my top three of this album, 8.5/10.
“Fly as Me” has a different tone than some of the more emotional songs in the album. It is more upbeat and follows a quicker pace and rhythm, the song continues in this fashion until the end where the song changes pace and both Mars and Paak alternate to take solos. The song is definitely encapsulating a different area of the 70’s then the other songs in the album, and it works. The song still feels like a classic song from Bruno Mars mixed with Anderson .Paak’s similar tones but “Fly as Me” steps outside of the album's more popular taste to make a subconscious break from the overwhelming tone of Silk Sonic’s other music, 7/10.
Starting off with the “Silk Sonic Intro”, the short song sets the bar high, involving Bootsy Collins who is introduced as the evening’s “special guest” and makes many appearances throughout the record, something that shapes together the whole album. The Appalachian Online states that this song serves as the show opener, with Collins sporting his signature look while introducing the band that he named for Mars and Paak. Collins is originally acknowledged in the Silk Sonic intro as the ‘host’ although it almost feels like his name was only used for publicity to get the album off its feet. This doesn’t overthrow how the opener shines light on the band's talent that can be seen even in such a short introduction to the album. 6/10.
The second song “Leave The Door Open” topped charts and caught eyes, particularly the eyes of the grammys. As said by The Source, critically-acclaimed album An Evening With Silk Sonic, earned nominations in Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best R&B Performance, and Best R&B Song categories. The song became Silk Sonic’s first #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100, spending two non-consecutive weeks at #1 and 18 consecutive weeks in the top 10. Of the band’s four nominations, Silk Sonic won two grammys, one for best R & B performance, and another for record of the year. The song itself deserves the attention it’s been given and is in my top three of this album, 8.5/10.
“Fly as Me” has a different tone than some of the more emotional songs in the album. It is more upbeat and follows a quicker pace and rhythm, the song continues in this fashion until the end where the song changes pace and both Mars and Paak alternate to take solos. The song is definitely encapsulating a different area of the 70’s then the other songs in the album, and it works. The song still feels like a classic song from Bruno Mars mixed with Anderson .Paak’s similar tones but “Fly as Me” steps outside of the album's more popular taste to make a subconscious break from the overwhelming tone of Silk Sonic’s other music, 7/10.
“After Last Night” is one of Evening with Silk Sonic’s more intimate songs. Starting the song with a staged personal romantic conversation between Bruno Mars and a woman. The song includes the bassist Thundercat and the special guest of the album, Bootsy Collins. As said by Rolling Stone, Mars’ perfectionist bent has given even his most beloved hits, like “Uptown Funk,” a mathematical precision that can sometimes feel a touch too manicured and fine-tuned. But the more frenetically energetic .Paak, who drums and shares copacetic duo vocals, brings a looser, free associating counterpoint. By the chorus we see this balance between their two complimentary music styles. This song makes good use of repetition without any of the lyrics getting old, the emotions are portrayed not only by the lyrics but by the bass and vocals. 8/10
According to EurWeb, “Smokin Out The Window” opened at #1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart. After celebrating Silk Night, an exclusive live event in Los Angeles with Spotify, Silk Sonic finally released their full debut album. The album opened at #1 on iTunes in nine countries and top 10 in 47 countries. An Evening With Silk Sonic has a stunning 492+ million US streams to date since its November 12th release. This song in specific has a music video that is a talented throwback to the 70’s with cinematography that adds to Mars and Paak’s performance of the song. The lyrics are emotional but not heavy and it elevates the collaboration of the two switching out throughout the song. This song is my second favorite of the album, 9/10.
“Put On A Smile” is introduced by Collins, setting the undertone to be more melancholy and romantic while still letting Mars and Paak’s emotional and dramatic vocals lift the song from being too heavy. This song is my personal favorite. It starts off by labeling itself as some sort of confession with Collins saying “Tell her how you really feel,” Although it is slower than some would like, the song has deep and metaphorical lyrics and the background music is flattering. Both Mars and Paak’s high notes in this song are commendable and unique. 9.5/10
“777” is a great example of how tremendous the artists are on their own, but when they come together you simply can’t deny their stardom. It uses both of their distinctive styles and blends them into a vintage feeling R+B song. According to Hot New Hip Hop, although they did enlist help from friends on other songs, Mars and Paak handle “777,” by themselves. The song is about getting lucky in Las Vegas, with The duo trading verses for the duration of the song. The duo plays this as their opening performance at the grammys as well. 8/10
“Put On A Smile” is introduced by Collins, setting the undertone to be more melancholy and romantic while still letting Mars and Paak’s emotional and dramatic vocals lift the song from being too heavy. This song is my personal favorite. It starts off by labeling itself as some sort of confession with Collins saying “Tell her how you really feel,” Although it is slower than some would like, the song has deep and metaphorical lyrics and the background music is flattering. Both Mars and Paak’s high notes in this song are commendable and unique. 9.5/10
“777” is a great example of how tremendous the artists are on their own, but when they come together you simply can’t deny their stardom. It uses both of their distinctive styles and blends them into a vintage feeling R+B song. According to Hot New Hip Hop, although they did enlist help from friends on other songs, Mars and Paak handle “777,” by themselves. The song is about getting lucky in Las Vegas, with The duo trading verses for the duration of the song. The duo plays this as their opening performance at the grammys as well. 8/10
After “Leave The Door Open”’s success, the duo then coasted into their sophomore release of “Skate,” which saw them glide into a second top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as it debuted at #4 and began as the genre’s best-selling song of the week. According to The Chronicle, “Skate” has the pair flexing their flirting capabilities in a more upbeat fashion compared to their monumental debut single “Leave the Door Open” that dropped earlier this year. “Skate” however, holds its own thanks to its groove-filled production made for gliding through the summer heat. Paak’s drumming is tight and almost melodic, which comes as no surprise to fans of his past tracks The appealing chord changes from “ Leave The Door Open” are back on “Skate,” though faster and less dramatic. Add in vocals, and the track becomes a medley of smooth and dynamic sounds fit for Silk Sonic’s talented frontmen. Personally it is not as much my style as the other songs because it feels more fantasy and bubbly without the emotion of Bruno Mars that I love. But, still of course I can appreciate all that was put into this song and the creators visions are there, 7/10
Silk Sonic’s “Love’s Train” takes us on a trip to the Eighties on their new cover of the original song, a Con Funk Shun’s classic single. As said by The Rolling Stone, the 1982 hit was inspired by a love triangle Con Funk Shun’s Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate found themselves in, both lovelorn and yearning. They came together to write the song. “Love’s Train” is one of Silk Sonic’s shared favorites, even if their cover is rooted more in the soul and funk of the Sixties and Seventies. Still, Mars and the album producer D’Mile added the bounce of the duo’s signature groove, picking up the pace of the original.
“Blast Off” is the last song of the album, the closing song for Silk Sonic’s Evening With Silk Sonic. It has a whimsey tone and encapsulates a light and subtly fantastical. According to Stereo Gum, its underlying musical architecture contains many surprises, it uses suspended chords and the opening passage reveals how the song unravels in a predictable but not tiring way. Although I don’t usually like slow but almost pop-like music this song is amusing, I also think it has good high notes similar to the rest of the album. 6/10
Silk Sonic’s “Love’s Train” takes us on a trip to the Eighties on their new cover of the original song, a Con Funk Shun’s classic single. As said by The Rolling Stone, the 1982 hit was inspired by a love triangle Con Funk Shun’s Michael Cooper and Felton Pilate found themselves in, both lovelorn and yearning. They came together to write the song. “Love’s Train” is one of Silk Sonic’s shared favorites, even if their cover is rooted more in the soul and funk of the Sixties and Seventies. Still, Mars and the album producer D’Mile added the bounce of the duo’s signature groove, picking up the pace of the original.
“Blast Off” is the last song of the album, the closing song for Silk Sonic’s Evening With Silk Sonic. It has a whimsey tone and encapsulates a light and subtly fantastical. According to Stereo Gum, its underlying musical architecture contains many surprises, it uses suspended chords and the opening passage reveals how the song unravels in a predictable but not tiring way. Although I don’t usually like slow but almost pop-like music this song is amusing, I also think it has good high notes similar to the rest of the album. 6/10
