?uestlove comments on new Roots album

By Chris Barnes
published

According to The Roots' drummer ?uestlove, the band have dropped a track from their forthcoming album because they just can't make it fit in. The song 'Birthday Girl', which featured a guest appearance from Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, will no longer appear on their new album 'Rising Down', but will be released via iTunes as an exclusive download later this month.

?uestlove explained that the track, originally set to open the album, was "sticking out like a sore thumb", so the group sought other ways to make it work, without success: "Then we were going to have a 'halftime' thing where
it was gonna come in the middle of the record as a break from the political thing, but that didn't work, either," the drummer continued. "Then we tried to make it the last song on the record, and that wasn't working. Then we tried to make it the hidden track, and that wasn't effective. Basically the album was complete; it starts with 'Rising Down' and it ends with 'Rising Up,' so that makes more sense to me".

The album is out in the UK on 28 Apr.

Chris Barnes
Chris Barnes

I'm MusicRadar's eCommerce Editor. In addition to testing the latest music gear, with a particular focus on electronic drums, it's my job to manage the 300+ buyer's guides on MusicRadar and help musicians find the right gear for them at the best prices. I dabble with guitar, but my main instrument is the drums, which I have been playing for 24 years. I've been a part of the music gear industry for 20 years, including 7 years as Editor of the UK's best-selling drum magazine Rhythm, and 5 years as a freelance music writer, during which time I worked with the world's biggest instrument brands including Roland, Boss, Laney and Natal.