My my my, oh how things have changed! Remember the days of anxiously awaiting the album release from your favorite artist? You know, the good ole days when you would be camped out at your local Tower Records, Sam Goody, Virgin or Vinyl Fever to be one of the first to get the latest album (I use the term loosely…LOL)? Then you remember the days when record labels would allocate a good portion of the budget to market their artists’ latest music project. I mean, you knew exactly when a new project from your favorite artist was dropping. Things are much different now in so many ways. There is so much good music out, but it seems as if it isn’t getting marketed. Oh and if it’s from an indie artist…forget it! Take for instance, Bilal. His A Love Surreal album was released in February 2013. I had always been a fan of the singer for his unique interpretation on modern day jazz, soul and funk. So when I found out that he had released another album, I was ecstatic to say the least. But it was five whole months after the initial release. Really? A critically acclaimed artist like Bilal and I had heard not one peep leading up to the release. Alright, let’s move on from my soapbox and to the review of his A Love Surreal LP. If you are a fan of Bilal, more than likely you have his first LP, 1st Born Second in your collection. Yes, that head-bobbing, cult classic of an album, that one. When I first heard the A Love Surreal album, it was difficult to not try to compare it to his first. For the record, this album is not like the first. Let me make that clear. But that is not a bad thing. In this album, he demonstrates his individualism and how much he has grown as an artist. It’s an eclectic mix of rock, soul and funk. Think Prince vs Rick James vs Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. No…Really! Some notable mentions are—West Side Girl, Astray, Back to Love, Longing and Waiting, Lost for Now (my favorite). If you are open to change and an album that transcends all musical genres…then you should certainly give it a play. Bilal pushes the creative envelope on this project, and I am here for it.