Soul Express CD Review BRIAN MCKNIGHT: – Gemini (US/UK Motown, 2005) Stay With Him (Intro) - What We Do Here - Everytime You Go Away - Grown Man Business - Everything I Do - Here With You - All Over Now - She - Stay - Come Back - Watcha Gonna Do? - Your Song - Me & You Brian McKnight used to be a firm favourite of mine and I could always depend on him not to disappoint. Then came his flirtation with the homeboy brigade courtesy of such people as Mase and Puff Daddy. His debut Motown set in 1999 was a joy to behold and certainly made up for the erroneous efforts with such lightweights. However his following 2 sets were, for me, totally devoid of anything worthwhile, and appealed to the adolescent / juvenile audience who were more attracted to commercial R&B / rap than quality soul. "Gemini" has come back to familiar territory, and although this is a fairly consistent set it does not scratch previous efforts on Mercury, or his production work for Tim Miner, Take 6, Vesta Williams, UNV and the like. There is only one song on here that I would actively NOT want to listen to and that features some awful rapper, but the rest really does elevate itself above that sort of drivel. The intro to this CD pays homage to his a-cappella days with Take 6 and the street corner style is something that he particularly works well with and he easily proves how good his vocal skills really are. The jazzy, gently soulful toe tapper, "What We Do Here" features some very nice real instrumentation and although the lyrics are not exactly mind blowing the track itself is definitely in the adult bag. More familiar territory can be found with the gentle piano and strings intro'd "Everytime You Go Away" which is more like what we would expect from his first album or his first Motown set. Very nice indeed, as is the uptempo groove of "Grown Man Business". His reliance on Marcus Miller's 1983 classic "Much Too Much" is rather clever and as samples go this works quite well, although I would prefer him to actually craft his own melodies. Much better is the excellent "Everything I Do" which is, I feel, one of the strongest inclusions from Brian here. His falsetto vocal and the great early 80s feel are perfectly suited. Hearing this quality I can understand why the R&B crowd have slammed this CD. They would not know quality real music if it bit their backsides. This track certainly has enough bite for me at any rate, as does the superb "Here With You" filled with warm Rhodes and Brian's traditionally sounding backing vocals. This is just great and I can't recommend these two tracks enough. Indeed "All Over Now" with its off key, shuffling beat also has its attractions but the groove possibly sits easier with younger ears. "She" certainly does not appeal to the likes of I, but the song that really did swing this CD for me was "Stay". This is not the same "Stay" as he recorded back in 1999 but an entirely new song, meaty, vibrant and Rhodes-filled this is my choice cut from the entire CD. "Whatcha Gonna Do" is killed straight off at the start by some aggressive styled rap. It's the sort of rubbish we'd expect on a typical R&B song and I bet there's a video in rotation on MTV Base somewhere. At least the sheer slinky smokey-roomed jazziness of "Your Song" and the gospel of "Me & You" sweep that rubbish away easily. There is no "Anytime", "Back At One" or "One Last Cry" on here which is a pity, but at least the material is still strong and FAR superior to the drivel he has presented us with over the past 4 years. A welcome and much needed return to form. Thank you Brian, and thank you Motown. Touch-wood, Motown have started aiming their sights back at an adult audience after years signing up cloned teenagers and groups who only appealed to school / college kids. The more they keep this up the better - and look at the SUPERB Kem set being a chart topper on the R&B charts. Who says quality can't sell?! - Barry Towler Albums of the Month in 2003 Albums of the Month in 2002 Albums of the Month in 2001 Albums of the Month in 2000 Albums of the Month in 1999 Albums of the Month in 1998 Albums of the Month in 1997 Other CD
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