Sol-Angel a "fine, rich and extremely likeable record", and Francis Jones from Hot Press found Solange's singing "sassy and assured". Vibes Keith Murphy named it one of the best R&B albums of the year. Andy Kellman of AllMusic cited it as "one of the year's more entertaining and easily enjoyable R&B releases" and found it "fun, silly, slightly eccentric and, most importantly, fearless", with most of the songs "soaked in bouncing pop-soul". Some reviewers expressed reservations. In MSN Music, Robert Christgau gave the album an "honorable mention" and deemed Solange "privilege's child" who "runs through her options" in a defiant but frothy manner, while naming "Would've Been the One" and "I Decided" as highlights. Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian called its music "savvy R&B with a gloss you can check your reflection in", but ultimately observed "a lack of both memorable tunes and the steely spined ardour that makes Beyoncé so compelling." Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine was ambivalent towards its use of sampling on certain songs, but praised "the mix of organic, old-school instrumentation and more electronic elements", which he felt make it "a loose, fun and reverent record." More critical was Rolling Stones Jody Rosen, who found it "embarrassing" for Solange to attempt Erykah Badu-inspired psychedelic-soul on tracks such as "Cosmic Journey". He also remained unimpressed by her singing and the record's sound, comparing it to "a woozy lava lamp glow." Track listing Sample credits "God Given Name" contains a sample of Thievery Corporation's "A Gentle Dissolve" "Dancing in the Dark" contains a sample of Heinz Kiessling's "Feeling Young" "I Decided, Part 1" contains a sample of The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" "6 O'clock Blues" contains a sample of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' "Summer of Sound" "Ode to Marvin" contains a sample of the percussion in Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" "This Bird" contains a sample of Boards of Canada's "Slow This Bird Down" Personnel Musicians Sean Hurley – guitar, keyboards, bass instrument John "Jabb" Broussard – guitar, bass instrument (Track 7) Phillip Todd – saxophone Noel Langley – trumpet, flugelhorn Neil Sidwell – trombone Manny Patino – drums Production Arrangers: Jack Splash, Karlin, Simon Hale, Soulshock Engineers: Rommel Nino Villanueva, Andres Bermudez, Gelly Kusuma, Christian Plata, Ryan Gilligan, Shinnosuke Miyazawa, Robert "LB" Dorsey, Patrick Magee, Andrew Coleman Mixing: Ben H. Allen (Track 9), Neal H. Pogue (2, 6, 8, 13), Jack Splash (4), Manny