 |
| |
|
| |
Album Review
by SashaS
12-10-2001
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Mr Smooth-operator |
|
Babyface: 'Face2Face'
(NuAmerica/Arista)
Babyface traces a new creative route to explore different sides to music making
A lot of changes have occurred in Babyface’s career of late: departure from his recording home of 10 years (Sony), founding his own label and, for the first time ever, inviting guests to collaborate on an album that is a reinvention of himself. Babyface’s seventh album ‘Face2Face’ is an appropriate title for an artist locating his ‘other’ selves.
Kenny Edmonds, as entered in his passport, is renown as a producer (of others) and hit maker (on his own) with a reputation of a ‘ballad-man’. Babyface wanted to make a crossover and turn his music appealing to floor-bound people (and not only to those longing for an embrace). Thus, once finished album had a second wind infused by guests such as The Neptunes, Heavy D, Tim & Bob and few newcomers, Buckwild, Afro, Anthony Nance. Plus a guest-star, Snoop Doggy Dog, on ‘Baby’s Mama’.
What we get are songs that are definitely recognizable as Babyface’s music but with a twist, some new urban-ism whiffing through it, more of club-flavas are present. The opening ‘Outside In/Inside Out’ sets the mood with its dreamy chords that soon grow into a groove; a more pedantic rhythm pattern is found in ‘There She Goes’ that merrily chucks along. ‘Work It Out’ has a funky-beat backing a falsetto vocal (one of many on the record), ‘I Keep Callin’’ is a soulful exercise in hip-hop…
Ballads are definitely not missing and choice is between melancholy of ‘What If’, sexiness of ‘Wish U Was My Girl’, harmonious ‘Still In Love With U’, splendorous ‘U Should Know’, wistful ‘With Him’… If anything is up to questioning on this platter then it is its sleekness: polished, polite, smooth like Lake Placid… There is a feeling that it should contain a touch more grit, dirt under its nails, be more street-soiled sounding. But then, this critique comes via Euro-ears, rather than a fellow-American’s…
A very solid album, otherwise.
7.5/10
SashaS
12-10-2001
Babyface’s album ‘Face2Face’ is available now on NuAmerica/Arista
|
|
|
