| CD REVIEW (This review was also published at www.701.com) |
| WEEKEND - KENNY LATTIMORE |
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| Admittedly not being a big fan of the vocally arpeggio-laden �new� R&B, I was pleased that it was kept to a minimum on this CD, as I could concentrate on the overall vocal quality and lyrical content. While there�s nothing profound in the said lyrics, which, for the majority, are strictly for the love-struck romantics in all but the most jaded of us, they flow smoothly and are further enhanced by multi-layered background vocals. Also appearing on the CD, to lend their harmonious support to Kenny Lattimore�s solid-gold vocals, are Troy Taylor, Shanice ('Can You Feel Me'), LaMenga Ford and Eritza Laues ('Weekend'). The recording seems to be a partnership of sorts between Kenny and Troy, as the composition credits seem to be shared fairly equally between the two of them, except on �group� collaborations (with Charles Farrar, J. Austin, Babyface and others). Troy handles most of the instrumentation, as well, on the majority of the tracks, but is helped out by several Crawfords - Christopher �Pops�, Daniel and Shep - on guitar, keyboards and other instruments on 'Don�t Deserve'. The particular tracks which appealed to me (even as a non-fan of the genre) were: 'Come To Me', co-written by Raphael Saffiq, K. Gilliam and Kenny Lattimore; 'Can You Feel Me', 'Lately' (sounding vocally a lot like Stevie Wonder); and 'Who', written by Reed Vertelney, who also performs on keyboards and programmed drums on this track, and M. Kember. Also appearing on this track were Terence Elliot on guitar, Reggie Hamilton on bass, M.B. Gordy on percussion, and Silky and Marc Nelson sharing vocals. Kenny pays tribute to divine inspiration on the final track, 'Healing', which seemed weirdly unbalanced, production-wise, and was a little over-the-top for my personal taste, but which also evoked Stevie Wonder at one point. |
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