Amateur Photo by Paul Mac Innes

ast night, in Stockholm, Sweden, the somewhat obscure venue The Philadelphia church became the perfect place for a long awaited concert. That’s because it was populated by people of faith.

People of all races and walks of life had gathered from all over Sweden, in faith, to witness what they hoped would be the resurrection of the so called “R&B Jesus” D’Angelo, the mystic-being no one had heard or seen much of in almost 12 years.

While I believed he would appear, in the crowd I could hear hopeful doubters. “I won’t believe he is coming until he is on that stage…”

There were huge expectations in the room. Would D’Angelo and his new band The Testimony fill them?

The funky 9-piece band did indeed enter the stage playing “Playa Playa.” Among them, you can see Pino Palladino, a member of D’Angelo’s Voodoo band, and Chris Dave, a beast of a drummer who has played with artists like Maxwell.  But the man himself was not on stage. Nor was it clear whether he was singing somewhere off stage. At that time, the sound wasn’t good enough  to distinguish any singer’s voice.

Then, too everyone’s relief, the band is joined by a tenth person, as they start up the second song for the evening. D’Angelo walks on stage. In the dim light you can tell he is wearing a hat and carrying a guitar. He turns his back towards the crowd, as the lights go up. He is here!! A Sly Stone/Rick James like figure is standing in front of us now, in a leather coat with huge spikes on the shoulders. And as he takes his first note, singing the tune “Feel Like Making Love” all doubt in the room leaves. He is here and he still has the goods and he looks healthy and fit too.

Clearly, and understandably, he is a bit nervous in the beginning.  The crowd responds instantly. The show goes on and with every bar of music Michael E. Archer turns more and more into the D’angelo we all have missed so much and waited for so long. He is still a great entertainer, full of energy, with a glimmer in his eye and a huge smile. As the evening progresses you can tell that he is really genuinely happy to be back on the stage. As the guitar player Isaiah Sharkey lays down the classic “Chicken Grease” chord, D’Angelo asks the crowd to shout out  its title. He gets a full response and giggles.

D’Angelo and The Testimony play mainly tunes from the Voodoo album. However he does present some new music. Two of these tunes — both ballads — really got my attention: ”The Charade” and “Another Life.” They strike me as more melodic than the tracks fromVoodoo. And while Voodoo does echo Prince, this new material really does!  The sound is veryinteresting and gives me goosebumps on my arms. He also plays a new tune called “Suggah Daddy,” a real funky tune that is also very Minneapolis-inspired. D’Angelos vocals are amazing, still the perfect mix of Marvin Gaye and Prince, with a twist of