“Michael Kiwanuka is the promising British singer/songwriter who won the BBC Sound of 2012 poll. Home Again is his full-length debut… Home Again is a promising debut by an artist who will no doubt deliver big…” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Category Archive for 'R&B'
Jennifer Lopez: Dance Again… The Hits
Posted in Dance Pop, R&B, Rock/Pop, Vocal Pop on Sep 13th, 2012
“[T]wo new recordings, ‘Dance Again’ and ‘Goin’ In,’ tracks that feature Pitbull and Flo Rida, respectively, [are] cuts designed for the dancefloors of 2012. …These hard, cold constructions feel especially steely when paired with the fizzy, glitzy turn-of-the-millennium hits that turned Lopez into a pop star. Not all of her charting singles are here but… [...]
“In 2012, Brit’s Critic Choice Award, a best new artist prize for the United Kingdom’s best talent, unsurprisingly went to Emeli Sandé, a woman being lauded for her crystalline voice and her immaculate songwriting skills… A true feature of this album is the sheer quality of the compositions, which, for lack of a better term, [...]
Ne-Yo: In My Own Words
Posted in R&B, Rap/Hip Hop, Rock/Pop on Aug 15th, 2012
“Ne-Yo is a real talent as a songwriter, and as a vocalist he is unmistakably more concerned with serving the song than his ego. He’s not the flashiest vocalist, but he’s able to put across contrasting emotions with slight adjustments, and he balances toughness with tenderness exceptionally well — all of which are uncommon traits [...]
Eric Benét: The One
Posted in R&B on Aug 15th, 2012
“Throughout the 2010 album Lost in Time, Eric Benét referenced a number of ’70s sources, from the Philly soul of the O’Jays to the disco of Cheryl Lynn… The lush arrangements and openhearted sincerity in some of the ballads, such as ‘Real Love’ and ‘Runnin,’ recall the same decade.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“The Bravest Man in the Universe, an album that sounds like 2012 as much as it sounds like Womack: the rhythms belong to the modern world, the slow, shimmering grooves undeniably Womack’s, as he’s been specializing in this sound since the turn of the ’70s… He’s showing signs of age — his voice is etched [...]
“Following the release of the retro-fitted Love Letter and evidently successful emergency throat surgery, R. Kelly was due for another abrupt turn with Black Panties, an album promised to continue in the vein of the classic 1993 album 12 Play. Instead, Kelly opted to prolong the nostalgia for older rhythm & blues. Write Me Back [...]
“The debut album from 2011 American Idol finalist Haley Reinhart, 2012′s Listen Up! features the singer framed in slick, retro-influenced pop and R&B productions… Definitely an ear-grabber, Listen Up! ultimately posits Reinhart as a kind of old-school pinup, a mini-Mariah Carey if she’d grown up listening to a mix of Dusty Springfield, Lisa Stansfield, and [...]
Frank Ocean: Channel ORANGE
Posted in R&B on Aug 8th, 2012
“One listen to Channel Orange makes it obvious that [Ocean] is as free as an artist as he is as a man. The album doesn’t have as many slyly powerful hooks as Nostalgia, Ultra, but Ocean’s descriptive and subtle storytelling is taken to a higher level.”–All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“With rare exception, revolutionary pop as presented on Looking 4 Myself sounds just like contemporary pop-oriented R&B, or European dance-pop, or some combination of the two. Compared to Usher’s previous album, this is weighted more heavily toward dance-pop.”–All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Dr. John: Locked Down
Posted in Blues Rock, R&B, Rock/Pop on Aug 6th, 2012
“Between 1968 and 1972, New Orleans-cum-L.A. session musician Mac Rebennack transformed himself into Dr. John, The Nite Tripper. He recorded a series of albums for Atlantic, most importantly Gris-Gris, but also Babylon, Remedies, and The Sun, Moon, & Herbs; they seamlessly wove a heady, swampy brew of voodoo ritual, funk, and R&B, psychedelic rock, and [...]
Marsha Ambrosius: Late Nights & Early Mornings
Posted in R&B on Mar 12th, 2012
“Just a few months after her Floetry partner, Natalie Stewart, released Floetic Soul, Marsha Ambrosius issued her own solo album. In a way, Late Nights & Early Mornings picks up where 2005’s Flo’Ology, left off, as much of it is in the vein of that album’s slow, steamed-up songs like “Lay Down” and “Imagination.”” –All [...]
“Like The Way I See It, this is a big production. Saadiq plays the majority of the drums, guitars, and keyboards, but he is joined by dozens of string and horn players and a handful of crucial collaborators…The album does not merely transcend period-piece status. It’s the high point of Saadiq’s career.”–All Music Guide Check [...]
“Ndegeocello is making some of the finest music of her life. Given her consistency of late, it’s quite possible that the same thing will be said of her output for as long as she is active.”–All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
Drake: Take Care
Posted in R&B, Rap/Hip Hop on Feb 13th, 2012
“Take Care has the feel of a late-night R&B album, full of slow tempos, muted textures, impassioned crooning, and an introspective tone.” –All Music Guide Check Our Catalog
“4 is the work of an artist who can finally afford an occasional curveball, especially one that delivers such a plush blow.” –The Boston Globe Check Our Catalog
“Rowland has typically been one of R&B’s more reserved presences, but on her third album, Here I Am, she sounds positively liberated—it’s as if the same radioactive spider that gave Beyoncé her superhuman confidence finally bit Rowland, too.” –The A.V. Club Check Our Catalog
Mary J. Blige: My Life II…The Journey Continues (Act I)
Posted in R&B on Dec 9th, 2011
“Those who are hoping for something in the spirit of mid-’90s Blige might be disappointed and think of the title as a ploy, but those who expect a wide variety of material in terms of style and mood will get precisely that. The first half contains several uplifting, upbeat numbers…The second half is heavy on [...]
“With its earnest introspection and earthy textures — not to mention guest spots by Eve and Anthony Hamilton — The Light of the Sun has a distinctly early-aughties vibe, recalling an era when tempos were slower and voices less Auto-Tuney.” –Entertainment Weekly Check Our Catalog
Quincy Jones: Q: Soul Bossa Nostra
Posted in R&B, Rap/Hip Hop, Rock/Pop, Soul on Sep 12th, 2011
““Q: Soul Bossa Nostra” collects newly recorded versions of songs associated with Jones in one way or another…None of it’s unpleasant to hear, particularly when someone as dependably charismatic as Snoop Dogg shows up, as the rapper does in a typically laidback take on “Get the Funk Out of My Face.” And Jones hasn’t lost [...]