WILL DOWNING
ALL THE MAN YOU NEED
Motown, 2000
1) It's On (Intro) 2) Summer Day
3) When You Need Me featuring Chant‚ Moore
4) Everytime It Rains 5) All the Man You Need 6)
Real Soon 7) Share My World 8) Tired Melody 9)
Grandma's Hands 10) Thinkin' about You 11) Only a
Moment Away 12) Love of My Life
Produced by Kevin Deane, Rex Rideout, Will
Downing, Stan Brown, Regis Branson, Kyle Bynoe,
James Poyser, Bastiany
A change of labels and a change of style for Will
Downing, and personally, I feel it was
about time. I've been an admirer of the man's
work since day one, but in all honesty, lately
I've been thinking that things have gotten to be
a bit too formulaic. Nothing profoundly wrong
with the man's recent recordings, mind you; they
have of course always been impeccably
professional and enjoyable. Still, particularly
the Gerald Albright
collaboration set (Pleasures of the Night, 1998)
didn't do all that much for me, although
career-wise it was a great move for Will, selling
well and introducing him to jazz audiences. In my
opinion, however, it was time for something
different, and the change appeared in the form of
Motown boss Kedar Massenburg,
who's best known as the force behind
Erykah Badu and D'Angelo.
Massenburg approached Will and presented his
idea: "Let's try to find the fine line
between what you have to offer and what folks
want to hear on the radio today." A
fine line it is indeed, and while some of Will's
old fans will probably find this set
disappointing, I think Will & co have
actually succeeded and done a very decent job on
the album. One fact worth noticing is that most
of the new producers have a background which
features both street soulsters and old school
R&B artists: for example, Kevin
Deane's experience ranges from Terri
& Monica to Alyson and
Christopher Williams, and Stan
Brown's from Dru Hill to
the likes of Stephanie Mills and
The Temptations.James Poyser's
work I already very much enjoyed with Erykah
Badu, D'Angelo and Juanita Dailey,
and his other credits include Phyllis
Hyman and Teddy Pendergrass.
Thus, after the somewhat edgy start with Summer
Day, the album settles into a comfortable
mix of the old and new, and the familiar Will
Downing sound can clearly be heard throughout the
set. My ballad favourites include the Chanté
Moore duet When You Need Me
with its subtle keyboard work by Benjamin
Love, the light and airy Only a
Moment Away, Real Soon with its cool laconic
appeal, and particularly the very soulful,
beautiful Everytime It Rains, on which Audrey
Wheeler lends a helping hand on
background vocals.
Admittedly, the background settings are more
ascetic than before, and thus a couple of
acoustic James Poyser productions sound rather
refreshing. Will delivers a solid string-laden
reading of Bill Withers'Grandma's
Hands, but my choice for the number one tune
of the album would have to be Tired Melody,
a wonderful laid-back jazz hop jam that features
a trumpet solo by famed jazzman Nicholas
Payton. I'd like to hear Will doing more
of this kind of stuff.
All in all, I consider All the Man You Need
a recommendable set for Mr. Downing's old fans.
Those who prefer the more traditional style can
find consolation in the fact that Will is already
choosing new songs for his second collaboration
album with Gerald Albright. (8/10)
-PR
