REVIEWED BY CHUCK ARNOLD
CRITIC'S CHOICE
R&B
Apparently John Legend wasn't sweating about a sophomore slump: Eight months after winning three Grammys (including Best New Artist) for his platinum 2004 debut Get Lifted, which heralded him as the male answer to Alicia Keys, the singer-songwriter and pianist is back with his supremely confident second CD. Reaffirming that he is no ordinary performer, Once Again finds Legend taking it up a notch from Get Lifted. Reuniting with producers will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas) and Kanye West, he continues to lovingly update old-school soul for the hip-hop generation on tracks like the glowing "Each Day Gets Better," which is filled with buttercream harmonies and samples the 1970 Four Tops song "In These Changing Times." But he isn't content to just bite off the oldies; he's intent on following in the artistic tradition of R&B's golden age. He evokes Al Green with the southern grit and gospel of "Show Me" and incorporates some vintage Stevie Wonder keyboards into the lounge groove of "Maxine." Meanwhile, Legend channels the late Donny Hathaway on the jazzy confessional "Again," which, like his signature hit "Ordinary People," captures all the emotional complexities of love.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Again"
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HIP-HOP
It must be nice to have a BlackBerry contacts file like Diddy's. On this, his first album since 2001's lackluster The Saga Continues ..., the hip-hop mogul gets by with a ton of help from friends like Christina Aguilera, Jamie Foxx and OutKast's Big Boi. In fact, aside from the disc's intro and an interlude, there are only two tracks credited solely to Diddy ("The Future" and "Hold Up"), and both of those will have you pressing the skip button. Elsewhere, though, he largely compensates for his shortcomings as a rapper thanks to a fresh infusion of electronica beats and faster tempos—somebody's clearly been listening to Gnarls Barkley—as well as some inspired guest turns. Three R&B divas—Brandy, Keyshia Cole and Diddy protégée Mary J. Blige—effectively hijack the CD on consecutive cuts "Thought You Said," "Last Night" and "Making It Hard," respectively.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Last Night"
The High Road
POP/R&B
Like many teenagers, JoJo, 15, goes through a bit of an awkward stage on this, the follow-up to her 2004 platinum self-titled debut. She is still somewhat unsure of her identity, not certain whether she wants to be the next Beyoncé (the "Ring the Alarm" soundalike "The Way You Do Me") or the next Christina (the "Beautiful"-esque "Exceptional"). And despite a voice bigger and bolder than your average teen-pop princess, she's still at the mercy of producers and writers who sometimes take the hackneyed road. One of the best tunes, the charmingly innocent "How to Touch a Girl," is the only one JoJo had a hand in writing. On this and the bittersweet hit single "Too Little Too Late," she finds her musical comfort zone.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Too Little Too Late"
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Thicke, another fine neo-soul artist who will be opening for Legend on tour starting Oct. 28, has also released his second album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke (left). And while he is the son of Growing Pains actor Alan Thicke, he sounds more like a direct descendant of Marvin Gaye. With Thicke caressing you with his feathery falsetto, these smooth midtempo grooves and sensual slow jams are sure to promote plenty of sexual healing.
TV on the Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain There really should be a warning label on the dynamic second CD from this adventurous alt-rock quintet: It's so captivating that it prevents the listener from focusing on anything else.
George Strait, It Just Comes Natural From the Lone Star State boogie "Texas Cookin'" to the empathetic ballad "He Must Have Really Hurt You Bad," Strait demonstrates just what a natural he is.
Gladys Knight, Before Me Knight's latest offers a beguiling twist—no R&B, no Pips, just a dozen jazz standards usually associated with forebears like Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan.
Solomon Burke, Nashville R&B mainstay Burke goes country on these 14 artfully rendered tunes, which include guest vocals by Emmylou Harris, Patty Loveless and Dolly Parton.
>SOUNDS OFF
The Texas-born troubadour, 34, recently hit No. 1 on the Billboard country chart with his single "Brand New Girlfriend," the title track off his second album.
ON HIS LAST NAME The very first time I went out to buy my album I found it in the gospel section. I love that music, but I am not sure my style lends itself to it quite as easily as my name does.
ON THE SONG THAT CHANGED HIS LIFE I remember being 12 and listening to "Guitars, Cadillacs" by Dwight Yoakam and thinking it was one of the coolest things I ever heard.
ON OVERCOMING FAMILY TRAGEDY At 12 years old, I lost a brother [to suicide]. He was every brother's dream of an older brother. And my father died right in front of me of a heart attack. I think those two collaborated and said, "God, you got to help this lost soul out." I think [that] had something to do with my career.
ON NOT WEARING A COWBOY HAT I guess I'm not a hat act, I'm a hair act. Maybe I could extend my career if I did wear a hat.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
