Do you ever neglect an album for one reason or another when it first comes out only to find out about five months later that it’s really awesome and you wonder just what in the hell you were thinking? No, of course you don’t. You’re not dumb like me.

I’m going through that moment with Common’s Finding Forever, which was released July 31. Nobody will ever accuse me of being ahead of the curve.

Perhaps I was scared off by Electric Circus or the Gap ads (“peace, love, gagGap”)? I’m not sure, and I’m not interested in over-analyzing it because Finding Forever recalls Common at his best – that means, to me, One Day It’ll All Make Sense and Resurrection, an album with a song that inspired a regular feature around here.

But how do I know that I really like Finding Forever? I don’t even mind Lily Allen’s cameo on Drivin’ Me Wild. That takes some serious doing.