Once in awhile an album comes along that sets the standards for others in its genre.

 Such is the case with this strikingly original, groove-oriented sophomore effort from R&B-soul singer D'Angelo, which hits record stores Tuesday.

 The followup to his double platinum 1995 solo debut, Brown Sugar, finds the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist recording at Jimi Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios in Manhattan. He even got to use the amps, microphones and recording board that Hendrix used.

 If that isn't enough creative mojo muscle for one man, D'Angelo also had an impressive list of collaborators.

 There's everyone from rappers Method Man and Red Man, who add blunt sex talk to the funky, bouncy, first single Left & Right, to Roots drummer ?uestlove, who D'Angelo calls his "co-pilot" on Voodoo.

 Song highlights include the slow-funk-and-jazz vibe of Playa Playa and Chicken Grease, the hip-hop grooves of Devil's Pie, the more hushed soul tracks The Line, Send It On, One Mo'Gin and The Root; the uptempo funk-jazz fusion of Spanish Joint; and the sultry slo-jam numbers Greatdayindamornin'/Booty and Untitled.

 This is the album that countless R&B posers currently out there could only dream of making.

Track Listing 1. Playa Playa
 2. Devil's Pie
 3. Left & Right - (featuring Method Man/Redman)
 4. Line, The
 5. Send It On
 6. Chicken Grease
 7. One Mo Gin
 8. Root, The
 9. Spanish Joint
 10. Greatdayindamornin' / Booty
 11. Untitled (How Does It Feel)
 12. Untitled
 13. Africa