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The music industry is too often based upon unreachable expectations. An artist will sell millions of copies and gain critical acclaim and widespread public admiration on one album, and get lambasted come the next record for not perfectly matching the arc of their predecessor. Ridiculously, nobody takes the time out to realize that holy crap, for some fleeting moment, an artist unified the public through their music. Even if an artist is only fleetingly consistent (like Guns N’ Roses) or maddeningly consistent (like Sade), it’s worth noting with at least some interest when a legacy artist comes from virtually nowhere to flex their creative muscles.

Case in point: Michael Archer, better known by his stage name D’Angelo, was a virtual force of nature in the mid-1990s/early-2000s R&B scene. With a voice that was equal parts Maxwell and Marvin Gaye and a style that was as sacred as it was sultry, D’Angelo became one of the pioneers of the burgeoning neo-soul movement alongside luminaries like Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Maxwell. His debut LP, 1995’s Brown Sugar, was a Top 5 R&B hit, a double platinum record and a four-time Grammy nominee; follow-up Voodoo (2000) sold almost as much, topped the Billboard 200 and managed to win two Grammys.

And then: nothing. He’s been working on stuff, sure, but no LP to blow audiences away like he did throughout the latter half of the ’90s. But that’s alright, because we have that music he did give to us, and what music it is. As a matter of fact, not even a week ago was it 15 years since Brown Sugar made its way into stores. It’s a bit past the mark, but a deluxe edition of the record would be something else – and thanks to producer Nile Rodgers’ active hand in social media (despite the fact he had nothing to do with the album), we now know there’s a nice bit of unreleased material to be had for an expanded set (not to mention some tracks on compilations and soundtracks here and there).

Get ready to get funky in a hypothetical way with a Reissue Theory look at D’Angelo’s Brown Sugar after the jump.D’Angelo, Brown Sugar: 15th Anniversary Edition

Disc 1: Original LP and more

1. Brown Sugar – 4:22
2. Alright – 5:13
3. Jonz in My Bonz – 5:56
4. Me and Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine – 4:46
5. Sh*t, Damn Motherf*cker – 5:14
6. Smooth – 4:19
7. Crusin’ – 6:44
8. When We Get By – 5:44
9. Lady – 5:46
10. Higher – 5:28
11. Your Precious Love (with Erykah Badu) – 4:11
12. Girl You Need a Change of Mind – 4:08
13. I Found My Smile Again – 6:15
14. She’s Always in My Hair – 6:20

Disc 1, Tracks 1-10 from original LP – Cooltempo/EMI America 7243 8 32629 2 2, 1995
Disc 1, Track 11 from High School High: The Soundtrack – Big Beat 92709-2, 1996
Disc 1, Track 12 from Get on the Bus: Music from and Inspired by the Motion Picture – Interscope INTD-90089, 1996
Disc 1, Track 13 from Space Jam: Original Soundtrack – Warner Sunset/Atlantic 82961-2, 1996
Disc 1, Track 14 from Scream 2: Music from the Dimension Motion Picture – Capitol CDP 7243 8 21911 2 4, 1997

Disc 2: Demos (all previously unreleased)

1. U Will Know (Demo)
2. Smooth (Demo)
3. N2U (Demo)
4. Higher (Demo)
5. Brown Shuga (Demo)
6. Sh*t, Damn Motherf*cker (Demo)
7. I’ve Found My Smile (Demo)
8. Get on the Floor (Demo)
9. Alright (Demo)
10. Me & Those Dreaming Eyes (Demo)
11. Lady (Demo)
12. When We Get By (Demo)
13. Aftermath (Demo)

Disc 3: Live at the Jazz Cafe, London – 9/14/1995 (Japan-only album – Toshiba EMI TOCP-8892, 1996)

1. Me & Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine – 4:51
2. Can’t Hide Love – 4:09
3. Cruisin’ – 6:34
4. Sh*t, Damn Motherf*cker – 5:37
5. Lady – 7:03
6. Brown Sugar – 10:41