I LOVE this CD. Ms. Hill walks us through her spiritual journey. If you don't want to go, get off this train now. She won't mind 'cause as she reiterates time and time again she is doing her own thing. Ms. Hill feels no pressure from the industry and it shows. This cd is absolutely nothing like Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. This cd is, as she states on her cd,"a tub that stands on its own bottom."

She is a poet. Her track "Just Like Water" is awesome. The metaphorical references to water and relationships blew me away the first time I heard it. Not only does she work her magic with an acoustic guitar and her distinctive voice, she works your soul with her spiritual revelations. As a listner you are required to become reflective. Even if you do not like the music you WILL walk away with an understanding of self. And if not with an understanding, than surely with questions.

This CD is inspiring, revealing, honest, healing, thoughtful, insightful, gritty yet delightful. In case you don't know it yet, I am vibin' this in a Big way.

"I know the view is that I am emotionally unstable, which is reality, like you aren't," states Lauryn Hill. Her new live double CD "Lauryn Hill Unplugged 2.0" is an amalgamation of her inner thoughts and personal demons. Her debut album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" was a surprise crossover hit that wowed critics and fans alike, selling 12 million copies, and garnering five Grammys, but it appears success was a pyrrhic victory for Hill. Hill talks about being held hostage by a public persona created by her success. "Fantasy is what people want, but reality is what they need," professes Hill and reality is what she attempts to deliver to her listeners with her new album. The raspy voice singer blends lyrics of the heart with acoustic sounds from the soul. On one of the lyrical gems titled "Adam Lives in Theory" (They can't even entertain the solution in a brain filled with vain information and pollution) Hill sings metaphorically of the antediluvian Adam and Eve of society. Far from perfection, Hill botches lyrics and strains her voice to unreachable heights, sometimes erroneously strumming away at chords, but yet this album is a gem for being refreshingly intimate and painstakingly honest. Hill pulls at our heartstrings with "Just Like Water" (Moving down the streams of my lifetime/pools of fascination in my sleep/cooling off the fire of my longing) and "I Just Want You Around" (You keep my feet on the ground/ I hope that you can hear me because I know it's not profound/ I just want you around) the two love songs on the album. She shines on "I Gotta Find Peace of Mind" (Please don't be mad with me I have no identity/All that I've known is gone) pouring out her heart and soul to the audience for over nine minutes before Hill becoming emotionally unglued and crying her heart out. Hill is a musical chameleon that does a complete 180 on "Unplugged" returning as a "hip-hop folk singer". It is a diamond in the rough of an arena, filled with pre-packaged commercially acceptable drivel. An album of socially astute thought, it requires a second listen before it can be truly effective and pleasing to the listener.

Not to be cynical, but the new Lauryn Hill album seemed doomed from the very start. It was kept in the vaults for well over a year before the release because her record label didn't feel it was commercial enough....boy were they right. Then she had the Unplugged show on MTV2, which hardly got any decent air time. And to top it off the album was recieved with mixed reviews at best and will undoubtedly fall off the charts quickly with little promotion.

There are alot of good reasons why the album deserves some of it's criticism. Lauryn's vocals are very weak and it cracks alot. And she tends to ramble on in her oh-so-long redundant interludes about "keeping it real". And yes, she's preaching again....but it doesn't come off as heavy handed as it did in her last album.

But all is forgiven once you listen to the material. The fact that Lauryn decided to abandon her band to give us an almost 2-hour emotional folk-fest on acoustic guitar is worth hearing.

The songs are mostly about love ("Mr. Intentional", "I Remember"), making social change ("I Find it Hard to Say", "Mystery of Iniquity"), and reflection (the interludes, "Oh Jerusalem", "The Conquering Lion"). Here is a young artist dealing with her newfound fame and is trying to relinquish it. She speaks to her audience as a teacher of life's lessons while literally in tears. At times she embodies the ghost of Bob Marley and Bob Dylan when she tells her audience to rebel against the system. It's not a new concept, many other artists have written albums reflecting on their fame while being socially conscious. And like those artists, she finds a way to make her story worth listening to without getting defensive, without the gimmicks, and without the pandering.

The sparcity of any other instruments and the rawness of her soulful voice (despite my initial criticisms of it) only enhances the songs. She also manages to make her most profound statements in her simpler songs. For example she repeatedly sings the line "I just want you around, I just need you around" for 3 minutes straight, and each saying is more powerful than the next.

"Unplugged" is very self-indulgent as the critics mentioned. I admit it can be off-putting at times, but there's alot of heart and soul in it. It will never see the commercial and critical success of "Miseducation..." but several years from now it will go down as an underrated classic.

This CD is the most politically/spiritually charged music I've heard in quite a while. The theme is freedom in ALL of its ramifications, from the personal to the political. Although stylistically different, the synthesis is not unlike that of Bob Dylan's best work.

I must confess that I was unfamiliar with Lauryn's music until my son shared with me a song from this CD: The Mystery of Iniquity. What can I say, it blew me away.

Her phrases are short and sharp and delivered with a force that can only be fueled by lived-conviction; the better to penetrate one's delusions and complacency, while energizing one's resolve to live free!

If time is what she needed to find herself, then she can take all the time she needs. Instead of promoting the evil that constantly surrounds the world today, former Fugee, Lauryn Hill strikes back against the system and delivers an amazing two disc set. Four years ago when Hill released The Miseducation, nobody could have imagined what an inspirational musical genius she would grow to be in the coming years. With a little hiatus between albums, Hill returned with a show stopping live performance that's composed of 13 brand new tracks and 9 spoken word interludes. On stage with nothing more then an acoustic guitar, Hill performs the songs for the first time to the delight of the crowd and the listener.

Hill, who is still developing her guitar skills (has clearly heard on the album), has written a collection of Bob Marley influenced rebellious songs, and sweet love songs. On "Mr. Intentional" the album's opening song, she address a love relationship gone wrong. With metaphors and spiritual inferences present, Hill breezes into "Adam Live in Theory", and the gospel number "Oh Jerusalem". But it's the rebellious songs that allow Hill to shine her brightest. On tracks like "I Find it Hard To Say", "Peace of Mind", "The Mystery of Iniquity", "I Get Out", and the album's best track "The Conquering Lion", Lauryn straight up attacks the "democracy" in which we live in today from the political evil, straight through to the injustices of the courts that are supposed to serve and protect us.

Through the spoken word interludes, Lauryn is able to break down the metaphors and explain them to those who wouldn't understand her material so they are not left in the dark. You can't help but to respect her for the effort that she has put into her new material that easily outshines anything she has done to date. Even though this won't change the world, it can change the views of numerous ignorant people, and those who just accept the bad times without doing anything about them. Hill who says that she was snatched away by god and shown the light, has benefited from it in more then one way. She has benefited from it spiritually, because it has brought her closer to god, and because it has helped shape her life and has helped her develop a new musical approach that will take her away from the rest of the people.

As far as comparisons go, nobody can touch Lauryn now. She has stepped above and behind her roles as an artist and has set the bar for what other artists should try and achieve. Just like Marvin Gaye and other artists before her, her music delivers a deeper message then just sex, drugs, money and luxury and though its not appreciated at its time, in the future it will be considered a masterpiece because they have realized the tragedy's before the others who were to shallow to do so. The only downfall to be found on the album, is Lauryn's guitar skills, which need a lot of work. She struggles as she learns new chords and how to change chords. Overall though the lyrics, which are so stunning, will take your attention away from the music and make you focus on what she is saying.