Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams
| Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Solange | ||||
| Released | August 26, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2005–08 | |||
| Genre | Pop-soul,psychedelic soul,electronica,R&B | |||
| Label | Geffen, Music World | |||
| Producer | Solange Knowles (exec.), Mathew Knowles (exec.), Ron Fair (exec.), Bama Boyz, Freemasons, The Neptunes, Jack Splash, Square, Mark Ronson, Max Gousse, Mr. Familiar, Soulshock & Karlin, Shea Taylor, Thievery Corporation | |||
| Solange chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  |
| Digital Spy | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| The Guardian | |
| Hot Press | 4/5 |
| Pitchfork | 7.3/10 |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Slant Magazine | |
| The Times | |
Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams is the second studio album by American R&B singer Solange Knowles. It was released August 26, 2008, by Geffen Records. Recording from 2005 to 2008, Knowles was heavily influenced by the "Motown Sound" of the 1960s and 1970s during the album's conception, prompting her to work with several vintage-style producers and songwriters such as Jack Splash, CeeLo Green, Mark Ronson, and former Holland–Dozier–Holland composer Lamont Dozier. Exploring the lyrical theme of independence, it also incorporates elements of downbeat and electronic music that she had familiarized herself with on previous trips to Europe.
Deviating from the R&B and dance-pop of Knowles' debut album, Solo Star (2002), Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams featured promotion that aimed at an "intellectual, backpacking, coffee shop, digital kid" audience, according to her record label. The album debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 46,000 copies in its first week, and spawned three singles that reached number one on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. Upon its release, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams received generally positive reviews from most music critics. As of April 2009[update], it has sold 138,000 copies in the United States.
Knowles had been working on her second studio album on and off since 2005 following her return home to Houston, Texas, and her divorce from Daniel Smith, with whom she had lived following the birth of their son Daniel Julez in October 2004. The follow-up to the critical and commercial disappointment of 2003's Solo Star was preceded by Knowles's move from Columbia to Geffen Records in late 2007. Knowles was heavily influenced by Motown girl groups such as The Supremes and The Marvelettes, and by her mother Tina, a one-time member of the 1960s harmony group The Veltones, who used to play music by the likes of Dusty Springfield and Martha Reeves to her. Knowles decided to distance herself from the teen pop and dance-pop-oriented R&B sound mainly associated with her previous effort, Solo Star.
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