Send "R. Kelly " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Billboard |
 his album is dedicated to the girls who stood beside me," R. Kelly sings in the a cappella introduction to his latest studio album, "and even all the bootleggers that couldn't afford to buy me." A characteristic bon mot from the Pied Piper of R&B-and yet much of "Love Letter" seems designed to confound our expectations about a new Kelly album. In stark contrast with last year's wonderfully lewd "Untitled," "Love Letter" is a relatively chaste retro-soul set that Kelly says was influenced by the old-school work of Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye. "Can I bring the love songs back to the radio?" he asks during "Lost in Your Love." And his question says a lot about the openly nostalgic vibe of cuts like the winsome title track and lead single "When a Woman Loves," the latter recalling the Percy Sledge hit with which it almost shares a name. Given Kelly's absurdly effortless melodic flair, the result certainly satisfies. But "Love Letter" could use more of his effortless absurdity....full text |
| Slantmagazine |
| You used to laugh when I touched you like that," R. Kelly says at the start of "Not Feelin' the Love." Me? I've blessedly never been touched by Kelly personally, but I have laughed at some of the things he's said. At, not with. So I can express solidarity with the object of his affections that, with Love Letter, things just aren't as they used to be. They're sloppy, robotic, and boring—as boring as singing about having sex in a taxi decades after Angie Dickenson had her panties removed in a yellow checkered cab can be. Dare I say I miss the days when he was comparing his lover's bush to a damp, swampy rainforest? Kelly's default mode throughout Love Letter is needy like a Salvation Army bell-ringer. Consequently, he's taking no chances on potentially offending his intended target, so he keeps his hot tub safely tepid and his rhymes aggressively passive. On the title track, he muses, "Near or far, I will find a way to send my love/Only pray that it don't come back return to sender." In case you missed it, he repeats the sentiment over the Christmas "remix" (i.e. replay of the backing track with an overlay of jingle bells and non-rhymed couplets about "Marshmallows, hot chocolate/Fireplace, you and me cuddling"). Musically, the album is a match, with Kelly supporting his generic sentiments with vanilla-smooth, grown-folks grooves that hearken not just to stepping in the name of love, but also some of the faux-Motown simulations from that most mechanical of recent musicals, Dreamgirls. "When a Woman Loves" sees Kelly trying to approximate just how big he knows women's love to be with unspeakably chintzy brass overtures and Michael Bolton-esque vocal gestures. "Love Is" shuffles along with all the panache of a Target holiday commercial. In it, K. Michelle reasons, "I may as well grab a pen and sign a waiver/To be yours for the rest of my life." Yet again, the overriding metaphors for love in Kelly's opus uniformly fall under the umbrella of not philosophy, but plastic. On "Number One Hit," he croons about the love between him and his victim blowing up just like "Thriller" did for Michael Jackson, "Smooth Operator" did for Sade, Avatar and Coming to America did for James Cameron and Eddie Murphy, respectively. If it seems presumptuous for him to appear on the cover in Ray Charles mode, bear in mind that, in "Lost in Your Love," he wishes he could be blind, because "I wanna have to find my way, and I don't want to have a clue." Ironic, because not only would he not have to be blind to not have a clue, but his tuneless lovemaking should make just about any prospective sex partner wish they were deaf....full text |
| Rnbmusicblog |
| R. Kelly is at his best musically when he is pushed in a corner: in the midst of his sex scandal in 2003 he released the brilliantly executed “Chocolate Factory.” After the lackluster sales of “Untitled” in 2009 he is back with “Love Letter,” his 11th studio album, that will hit stores on December 14, 2010. The ‘Love Letter’ CD will probably cement his place in R&B music history. The album, although not perfect is flawless production wise, lyrically and vocally speaking. Listening to it, it is hard not to agree with those who see him as the most dominant force in R&B in the last 25 years. On “Love Letter” Kelly touches greatness when he is upbeat like on the title track “Love Letter,” remorseful in “How Do I Tell Her?” and jubilant like on the K. Michelle assisted “Love Is.” The self-proclaimed pied piper of R&B also shines on radio friendly songs like “Taxi Cab,” “Number One Hit,” and “Radio Message.” The Grammy-nominated first single taken from the project “When a Woman Loves,” reminds music lovers that the “Down Low” singer is also a very talented vocalist. Inspired by soul legends like Donny Hathaway and Michael Jackson, “Love Letter” loses steam a little bit when R. Kelly gets too conceptual like on “Music Must Be a Lady” or uninspired like on “A Love Letter Christmas.”...full text |
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