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Brian McKnight - Evolution Of A Man
| Billboard |
| Since his last album, the 2006 "Ten," Brian McKnight has been busy moonlighting as a morning show personality (on smooth jazz KTWV Los Angeles) as well as host of a self-titled syndicated urban radio program and a new late-night TV talk show ("The Brian McKnight Show"). The singer/ songwriter returns to his original bread-and-butter gig for his 11th album, "Evolution of a Man," and his E1 Music debut. Now an elder statesman in the R&B and pop arenas, McKnight offers another mood-setting mix of midtempo cuts and ballads. In addition to the lead single, "What I've Been Waiting For," McKnight more than holds his own on the midtempo numbers "WhenURlovinME" and "AlwaysbeMYbaby," whose catchy hooks and lush harmonies linger long after the last notes have sounded. But ballads remain his strong suit, especially the moving "Another You." It's signature McKnight: just him on the keyboards singing passionate, heartfelt lyrics. One quibble: two distracting interstitials at the beginning and midway through the set. While not groundbreaking, "Evolution of a Man" shows McKnight still has a way with the ladies.-Gail Mitchell...full text |
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| Nytimes |
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The British long ago made themselves curators of American R&B and soul as record collectors, disc jockeys and remake performers. Rod Stewart has been one of those remakers for decades. Since 2002 he has been releasing albums of tried-and-true songs: four “American Songbook” albums of Tin Pan Alley standards, a collection of rock oldies and now “Soulbook”: 1960s and ’70s hits from Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Motown and Philadelphia International Records. His new versions are respectful and careful, with his voice recorded in close-up. Compared to the originals, they are just about joyless. The songs get the elite treatment for “Soulbook.” Mr. Stewart worked with American producers and musicians — among them ’70s soul architects like Willie Mitchell, Al Green’s producer, who did some string arrangements — and guests including Mary J. Blige and Jennifer Hudson. The album was produced by Steve Tyrell, who worked on the “American Songbook” recordings and mostly handles the ballads, and by Steve Jordan, the drummer who has worked with Keith Richards and John Mayer. When the producers reimagine the songs, they slow things down. The opening of “The Same Old Song” frames the album as nostalgia; its first minute sets aside the Four Tops hit for a piano-and-guitar ballad as Mr. Stewart calls himself “a sentimental fool,” before the Motown drumbeat kicks in. “Tracks of My Tears” gets a big string-section buildup and a modest harmony vocal from Smokey Robinson....full text |
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| Allmusic |
| Brian McKnight's lone set of non-Christmas material for Warner Bros., 2006's Ten, peaked exactly where his previous six proper albums topped out (within the Top Five of Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart), yet he finds himself on E1 (formerly Koch) for Evolution of a Man. Though he has written and produced plenty of his own material in the past, he did it all on this one, and presumably provided much of its instrumentation. It's a set that is predominantly slow, sparse, and intimate. Most of the album's last two-thirds offers familiar McKnight fare -- sensitive, soothing backdrops that are at least comforting when not uplifting. Earlier on, as well as in a couple instances deeper into the album, McKnight takes some risks with tracks that contain little more than pattering percussion and twinkling keyboards; here, the sonics are more memorable than the songs, and not much of the album as a whole holds up to repeated listening. Some of McKnight's devoted fanbase will find the album rather fascinating since it's a change of pace, more a collection of loose sketches than a highly polished set....full text |
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