After doing the "Rock Record of 2005" thread last night, I decided to wrap up the year with a similar thread for R&B (and a later one for Rap coming up soon, but that'll take a lot of thought), but found much harder. This was not a great year for Rhythm & Blues (or Soul), by any means, so I had to narrow the top records in my opinion to three instead of five.
Actually, one of my favorite singles of the year was from Anthony Hamilton, called "Can't Let Go", and I don't believe his album is scheduled for release this year. As far as other major acts this year, R. Kelly proved his "worth" nowadays; his sexual "allegations" aren't even the most pathetic things about him anymore. If you have the stomach to endure his entire "Trapped in the Closet" series, you'll realize what I'm talking about. Kindred the Family Soul, after putting out a surprisingly great a few years back, came out with a downright terrible record this year, crushing my hopes of a neo soul revival. D'Angelo's rumored new record never surfaced (and actually, I'd like to know if he's physically ok after whatever accident he was involved in recently), Al Green continued his comeback tour with a new record, which I'm sorry to say was excellent except for one thing...Al Green can't sing anymore!
If you got through that, here's my top three records:
3. Charlie Wilson-Charlie, Last Name Wilson (This isn't R&B in the classical sense, but I'm such a huge Gap Band fan, and Charlie actually did a pretty damn good job wading through this basically commercialized record with production courtesy of...you guessed it, R. KELLY! That being said, Charlie's voice still holds up MUCH better than Al Green's, and "Asking Questions" and a cover of Guy's "Let's Chill" are well-constructed pop songs, even if they won't replace any of the Gap Band's material)
2. Stevie Wonder-A Time to Love (I had the highest expectations for this record, based on the fact that "From the Bottom of My Heart" is the best single song Stevie's been a part of since "Lately" came out 25 years ago, but alas, I've come to accept the fact that Stevie Wonder will never recapture the magic of the '70s. This record is only a disappointment for me because after all the delays this record received, I held out hope that it would come out something like "Talking Book". The good news is just about half of this record is excellent, the other half is like pretty much everything Stevie put out in the '80s. "Moon Blue", "How Will I Know", "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved", and especially "From the Bottom of My Heart" almost make up for the fact that this album is 7 or 8 tracks, possibly more, of filler and more filler. Not to mention Prince's one contribution to the record was a few background guitar licks on "So What the Fuss")
1. Eric Benet-Hurricane (This record snuck up on me. This is as soulful as this music is going to get in this day and age, even if it's being sung by the idiot who cheated on Halle Berry, multiple times. Maybe she just doesn't put out
, but all that aside, Eric Benet has one of the best, most technically talented voices I've heard in years, and he shows it on songs like "Pretty Baby" and "I Wanna Be Loved". After wading through the obligatory up-tempo "club" songs, which thankfully are few, you come away from this record pleasantly surprised that Eric is trying so many sounds on this record, including a nice foot-tapping Southern soul acoustic number, and a simple jazzy piano-driven song that I can't quit listening to. This genre is becoming more and more meaningless, so it's nice to hear someone who understands, at least musically, what rhythm, blues, and soul was, is, and could still be, even if nobody really cares anymore)
I'm still waiting to see if Jamie Foxx can surprise me, or if he'll play it safe and go with the tried-and-true Kanye formula, but anyway, this is my list, and I'd like opinions; maybe there's a good record I missed. This sure was slim pickin's for R&B this year.
If you hadn't noticed, I like to hear myself talk. A LOT.
Actually, one of my favorite singles of the year was from Anthony Hamilton, called "Can't Let Go", and I don't believe his album is scheduled for release this year. As far as other major acts this year, R. Kelly proved his "worth" nowadays; his sexual "allegations" aren't even the most pathetic things about him anymore. If you have the stomach to endure his entire "Trapped in the Closet" series, you'll realize what I'm talking about. Kindred the Family Soul, after putting out a surprisingly great a few years back, came out with a downright terrible record this year, crushing my hopes of a neo soul revival. D'Angelo's rumored new record never surfaced (and actually, I'd like to know if he's physically ok after whatever accident he was involved in recently), Al Green continued his comeback tour with a new record, which I'm sorry to say was excellent except for one thing...Al Green can't sing anymore!
If you got through that, here's my top three records:
3. Charlie Wilson-Charlie, Last Name Wilson (This isn't R&B in the classical sense, but I'm such a huge Gap Band fan, and Charlie actually did a pretty damn good job wading through this basically commercialized record with production courtesy of...you guessed it, R. KELLY! That being said, Charlie's voice still holds up MUCH better than Al Green's, and "Asking Questions" and a cover of Guy's "Let's Chill" are well-constructed pop songs, even if they won't replace any of the Gap Band's material)
2. Stevie Wonder-A Time to Love (I had the highest expectations for this record, based on the fact that "From the Bottom of My Heart" is the best single song Stevie's been a part of since "Lately" came out 25 years ago, but alas, I've come to accept the fact that Stevie Wonder will never recapture the magic of the '70s. This record is only a disappointment for me because after all the delays this record received, I held out hope that it would come out something like "Talking Book". The good news is just about half of this record is excellent, the other half is like pretty much everything Stevie put out in the '80s. "Moon Blue", "How Will I Know", "If Your Love Cannot Be Moved", and especially "From the Bottom of My Heart" almost make up for the fact that this album is 7 or 8 tracks, possibly more, of filler and more filler. Not to mention Prince's one contribution to the record was a few background guitar licks on "So What the Fuss")
1. Eric Benet-Hurricane (This record snuck up on me. This is as soulful as this music is going to get in this day and age, even if it's being sung by the idiot who cheated on Halle Berry, multiple times. Maybe she just doesn't put out
, but all that aside, Eric Benet has one of the best, most technically talented voices I've heard in years, and he shows it on songs like "Pretty Baby" and "I Wanna Be Loved". After wading through the obligatory up-tempo "club" songs, which thankfully are few, you come away from this record pleasantly surprised that Eric is trying so many sounds on this record, including a nice foot-tapping Southern soul acoustic number, and a simple jazzy piano-driven song that I can't quit listening to. This genre is becoming more and more meaningless, so it's nice to hear someone who understands, at least musically, what rhythm, blues, and soul was, is, and could still be, even if nobody really cares anymore)I'm still waiting to see if Jamie Foxx can surprise me, or if he'll play it safe and go with the tried-and-true Kanye formula, but anyway, this is my list, and I'd like opinions; maybe there's a good record I missed. This sure was slim pickin's for R&B this year.
If you hadn't noticed, I like to hear myself talk. A LOT.
