"Desire" is anchored by some basswork that sounds very Marcus Miller-like to me. I am not well-versed at all in the school of jazz but I did listen to some Miller records in the '90s. When I hear Danyel Morgan's bass on "Desire," it evokes Miller and that is not a bad to thing to these ears.
"Thrill of It," the first single from Colorblind, is a great pop-rock song. "Thrill" is funk-rock fusion at its most accessible, listenable, and fun. It is the most mainstream-sounding cut on the album and has a big, FM-radio sound. The layered vocals in the chorus have just the right touch of compression. This is a rare example where the groove and flow of a song is not destroyed by slick production. The sound is slick, but it works. The world will be a better place if this song becomes a hit (Check out the video for "Thrill of it": QT|WMV).
...and then there are the guest spots.
Eric Clapton provides guest guitar and vocal on a cover of "Jesus is Just Alright." The pairing works well enough. The mostly by-the-numbers cover is enjoyable but not particularly revealing or invigorating.
While not performing a cover, many of the same adjectives apply to "Love is the Only Way." The song was co-written by Matthews and he provides some guitar and shares vocal duties. The Matthews/Randolph pairing might have seemed interesting on paper but "Love is the Only Way" is not much more than pleasant album filler when compared to some of the better moments on the disc.
I won't be surprised if Leela James' duet with Randolph, "Stronger," is a favorite for many listeners. It is a tender, soulful-sounding ballad... and it did nothing for me. Maybe I just don't get it. Some people were inspired by R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly." You do the math. "Stronger" is an ambitious love anthem- maybe too ambitious.
Article comments
1 - A.L. Harper
Fantasitc Review Darling!
2 - DJRadiohead
Thank you, Ms. A.L. It's a very good album- I listened to it a good bit more this weekend.
3 - Connie Phillips
Congratulations! This article was chosen as an Editor's Pick.
4 - DJRadiohead
I like this album more than I did when I wrote this review. "Love is the Only Way" has grown on me.
5 - El Bicho
"refusal to be shoehorned into one particular genre or style."
Absolutely. We appear to have found the same likes and dislikes. while I enjoyed it, I wanted to be awed and it never rose to that level.
See him live. I got to catch him with The Black Crowes this summer.