Like so much other music released in 1986, this sounds extremely “modern” or, perhaps more appropriately to us 21st century folks, “contemporary.” It’s aggressively of its era, which is a good thing for some people I suppose, though obviously not for me.
Tag: Contemporary R and B
No More Drama (2001) by Mary J. Blige
So, I basically only know Mary J. Blige from her hits and maybe some guest appearances. I thought I had listened to an album of hers at some point in the past but there are no reviews so I must have decided not to. I’m not really sure why, I guess I decided the combination …
8701 (2001) by Usher
I know very little about Usher beyond the hits that were so successful I couldn’t avoid them. I do remember I heard one of his songs once (something about “Confessions”) which startled me in how it was mostly just vocals, with barely other instruments. Other than that, I know nothing about him. And I wasn’t …
The Comfort Zone (1991) by Vanessa Williams
Who is this for? Some of it feels like it’s for Janet Jackson fans (who have lower standards). But some of this is for your grandma. Well, maybe your parents. Either way, some of this is super cheesy adult contemporary. (Her “signature” song being the most obvious example.) And that leads you to wonder why …
1st Born Second (2001) by Bilal
Is it just me or does Bilal sound like Snoop on the opening? Maybe it’s just me, but it’s weird. Anyway…
Celebrity (2001) by *NSYNC
Like, what the hell happened? This album is a quantum leap in quality from No Strings Attached. It’s not even remotely close. Some of this is actually…good. And it really makes a case that, at least sometimes, it’s good that the talent take over from the handlers in the manufactured pop music space. Because, well, …
Aaliyah (2001)
This is like a British LP from the ’60s where it was released around the same time as a hit single but, in order to encourage you to buy the single instead of the LP (which you presumably buy anyway?) the single is left off. (Not the American version of selling you the single twice …
Songs in A Minor (2001) by Alicia Keys
This is a pretty impressive record given Keys’ age, especially when she first started writing it, and her inexperience in the industry. It’s flawed, for sure, but I think it’s important to keep in mind how damn young she was.
Secrets (1996) by Toni Braxton
I swear I’d listened to at least one other Toni Braxton album before but I have no reviews so I must have given it up before I got to three listens. So I guess this is my first proper listen to a Toni Braxton album.
Back in the High Life (1986) by Steve Winwood
Traffic are one of those bands I want to love more than I actually do. They’re one of those bands who might have been All Time great had they just had a great songwriter. There are so many moments in their music that I get really excited about, but then the quality of the songs …
Miss E…So Addictive (2001) by Missy Elliot
I have some vague memory of beginning to listen to an earlier Missy Elliot album and then deciding to stop before my three listens because it didn’t seel enough, the reviews weren’t good enough or I felt I didn’t have enough to say (I do not remember why or even which album it was). But …
Survivor (2001) by Desinty’s Child
I can’t quite get over the congruity (and timelessness!) of writing a song about being an independent woman, while starting off the song referencing the Charlie’s Angels remake. Because, if the idea of Charlie’s Angels was ever feminist, well it’s a pretty dated and dumb version of feminism. (Smart, capable women whose lives are controlled …
Seal (1991)
I know one Seal song. (I’m too young for “Crazy.”) Seal was not big in North America and is known here to my generation for “Kiss From a Rose” and, for younger people, as being Heidi Klum’s ex-husband. So I didn’t know what to expect.
Spellbound (1991) by Paula Abdul
I know very little about Paula Abdul. I remember a couple of her songs – and, honestly, remember the video for “Rush Rush” than I do the song – and I remember some vague reason for her being kicked off some talent TV show. That’s it. So I was expecting some kind of early ’90s …
All for You (2001) by Janet Jackson
Well this is a horny album.
Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite (1996)
So full disclosure: I barely remembered Maxwell’s existence when this anniversary came up. I knew the name but I couldn’t even tell you what kind of R&B he was associated with. I now understand that what he’s doing on this record was distinct from the dominant form of R&B at the time but, all these …
Cooleyhighharmony (1991) by Boyz II Men
I began to mature as a music fan in a world where Boyz II Men were ubiquitous. It felt like you couldn’t avoid them because, unlike so many other artists on the music video channels I watched, they were also played in malls, in doctor’s offices, everywhere.
Street Songs (1981) by Rick James
What I know about Rick James can basically be summed up in two things: “Super Freak” and Chappelle Show. And I really know “U Can’t Touch This” much better than Super Freak. Oh, I know a third thing: he was once in a band with Neil Young. (That’s actually true.) So I had no idea …
Acoustic Soul (2001) by india arie
I knew only one thing about india.arie before I listened to this record, her idiosyncratic stylization of her name. I thought she was older for some reason, and I didn’t know anything else. So this came as a pleasant surprise.
Control (1986) by Janet Jackson
I need to preface this by saying that I only know “New Jack Swing” as a name, I don’t really know anything about the genre and its history and have added it as a label to my reviews only when told by someone that “this music is New Jack Swing.” But if it’s true, it’s …
J. Lo (2001) by Jennifer Lopez
This is a relatively diverse dance pop/latin pop/R&B record that is sequenced oddly and is just way too damn long.
TP-2.com (2000) by R. Kelly
I guess if you’re the most commercially successful male R&B artist of the 1990s you can release an album called TP-2.com and not get laughed at by the entire world – just some of it. (This record sold a lot.) Despite the title, which tells non fans literally nothing about it (except there must have …
R. Kelly (1995)
This is my first R. Kelly record and it is incredibly hard to know what to do with it knowing about the man. I have not watched Surviving R. Kelly yet, but I have listened to the Behind the Bastards episodes about him. I know he is a terrible person and he’s basically gotten away …
Whoa, Nelly! (2000) by Nelly Furtado
I’ve paid basically no attention to Nelly Furtado. I was aware of her hits – and remember the hits from this record – but was otherwise utterly uninterested. Some of that has to do with my music tastes – specially my tastes when I was 19 – and some of that appears to have to …
Daydream (1995) by Mariah Carey
I’m on my fourth ish Mariah Carey album. And, with listening to her actual albums, I’ve come to believe she may be the most technically gifted female vocalist in pop or R&B. (I might go even further than that.) With every album of hers I listen to, I become more and more convinced that she …
Dirty Mind (1980) by Prince
Like so many artists’ early work, I’ve come to this Prince album backwards. And I suspect that a lot of my issues with it come from all the later Prince I’ve heard. Because, on first listen, this record just sounded like Prince in utero or, um, proto Prince.
The Gold Experience (1995) by O(+>
I can’t claim to know Prince’s catalogue that well, especially since the ’80s. So you can’t take what I say as gospel. But, listening to this, I’m inclined to agree with the critical consensus that says it’s his best record of the ’90s (or one of them). There may well be better ones, of course, …
Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990) by George Michael
More than his debut album, this record strikes me as the work of a singer-songwriter, one who also happens to be an incredibly dynamic performer, and a multi-instrumentalist. I’ve only listened to Faith a couple of times, but this feels more personal. And I must say I like it more. As an aside: the fact …
The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book (2000) by Wyclef Jean
Why are Wyclef’s albums so fucking long? I don’t know the answer but it feels like it’s not just a case of the ’90s album bloat. Here is a man with a lot of pretty decent material (arguably more than on his debut) who doesn’t seem to know how to present it to the world. …
Give Me the Night (1980) by George Benson
Who is this album for, exactly? Is it for fans of scat singing? Is it for fans of smooth soul? Is it for fans of soul jazz? Is it not stupid to assume those groups of people overlap? Apparently it’s not as this album topped both the Soul and Jazz charts (ugh) and went to …