Soul Express CD Review

I really love Babyface as he has given us some really classy tunes over the years from his tenure with Manchild in the 70s, through the Deele in the 80s and from then until today as a solo artist and, more impressively, producer. His work with The Whispers, Johnny Gill, Tevin Campbell and more recently Carole King has been exemplary. However, on occasion he does fall short of the mark, and his last album mainly focussed on the new R&B kids who were more akin to Snoop Dogg than The Whispers. That album did contain some ultra-fine songs, songs which I regulary drag out and air 4 years on.

This new set is, according to Arista, the defining album of his career. Although this set is by now means appalling I think Arista and Babyface are hoping for too much from this comment as I feel this album does not match his past work. Bar five tracks the album feels to me to be rather mundane, run of the mill, and has no real feeling to it and in places I believe he still struggles to escape from the "we must appeal to the MTV viewers" mentality by its use of street language (Homey, Playa) and the occasional "uh, yeah". In fact, I have to break the listening of this album down by intermingling it with other, recent, material or else I think I would get decidedly bored.

The five tracks that I pick out I feel are of particular interest, but compare these to tracks such as "Chivalry", "Never Keeping Secrets", "Rock Bottom" and so on and we are very much wanting. I think the best song on the CD is the one which opens the album up - this being the lovely "Tonight It's Goin' Down" which is very summer orientated, but falls down slightly with the "megaphone homey" element that I am always moaning about, and the ghost of a Craig David recording also does not help me either. That aside, a very pleasurable song and worthy of a spin for sure.

The title song has some very nice touches, and comes across as a lovely After 7 type song that we would have expected on their debut album, so that is a welcome cut. "Can't Stop Now" is a real grower, and worked better on me after 3 or 4 plays. Essentially it is a devastatingly warm ballad which almost fails because of the subtlety. Yet it is this subtlety that gives it its strength. The programmed beat is ably supported by a haunting background and here lies the real attention grabber. Please don't pass this song over, and I urge you give this a chance.

The single release is the typical Babyface pop ballad "Sorry For The Simple Things", and if there is any justice he should have a hit with this, especially on adult radio. I feel sorry for those quality artists who are still rostered on major lables. It must be difficult for artists of this calibre trying to keep his head above the rising sewer level of today's so-called R&B. You either sink or swim with the majors right now, and long gone is the idea of grooming and promoting talent, and I get the impression Dear old Kenneth is in danger of floundering amongst today's increasing effluent and being pulled between his heart and what the marketing men / accountants / all the rest demand. I personally feel his heart and talent would be better employed out on his own with his own label rather than trying to appeal to base culture.

Anyhow, the only worthwhile stepper is the vibrant and fun "She's International" which owes more to a classy 80s dance track courtesy of Solar Records than anything today. Now, these four songs are very worthwhile, and the rest of the CD isn't as bad as, say his abysmal "The Day" album or the rap influenced cuts on his last set, but I have to be honest and say that I got rather bored rather quickly with this album.

I would like to have known if the "Love Stories" album, touted for a September 2004 release was any different - the artwork was certainly superior - to this. I think that Kenny could do a lot better than this as he certainly has the talent, the connections and the savvy. Nice in places, but not essential. Definitely not the album of his career. I believe that is yet to come.
- Barry Towler