Don't trust him!

A great dissapointment
Smooth, groovy, unadventurous, solid R 'n' B… but is it worth it? I believe this one is not…
“Trust Me” was released November 2007 and is the fourth studio album from 26-year-old Craig Ashley David. His debut album from 2000, “Born To Do It”, which was released when he was only 19, stormed the charts with hits like “Rewind”, “Fill Me In” and “Seven Days”. Seven million copies sold all over the world got some interest in the US as well. But that interest soon has disappeared, since the following albums, “Slicker Than Your Average” and “The Story Goes” from 2005, failed to get the same interest. From 2005 till now silence. Some expected a complete withdraw. The question is not if he dropped the arrogance, the infatuation but if he managed to make changes in the way his music sounds.

How are the lyrics now?

Just two examples…
"I was waiting for your love, but you can only wait so long/I was hoping and praying you would see what was going on/Now we're standing here with open hearts/And I'm chained inside my world" - Awkward

"So hot she'll have you begging for more/And even hotter when her Victoria's Secrets drop to the floor. Hot like Elle, hot like getting down with Gisele/What the hell, hot like sex back at the hotel" - She's On Fire

Does he have some chances for the Grammies? I certainly hope not… Maybe a few nominations will come his way, but that’s it. The only good thing in the album is only his voice, as the flatness of all the rest doesn’t make it better. Probably, if Craig David didn’t sign it we wouldn’t have heard about this album.
The general sound is awful. The alert rhythm combined with some soul passages feels like a parody, there’s nothing to laugh there. Maybe the dance sound that he wishes to impose is frenetic, but somehow you get the impression it’s better to lie down. The voice is unquestionable; he is able to sing from R’n’B to reggae on this album, as well as a ballad. Still, the experiment fails this time. If that collaboration with Sting was great, no doubt about it, this time the production and music arrangement really step behind quite a few steps, despite Craig’s talent.
Maybe the best thing of this album is the fantastic turn of a newcomer in the song “Awkward”, the 17-year-old Rita Ora, discovered by the album producer Martin Terefe.
Everything else is R 'n' B-by-numbers: perfectly pleasant and resolutely uninspiring. However, banal lyrics and unimaginative production are consistently elevated by the quality of David's voice. While not incredible, it is extremely and consistently strong.
With a better team behind him and a clearer sense of musical direction, he could be just as good. Slicker than the average, certainly, but still not quite fulfilling the expectations raised by his remarkable debut.

Air...

It all started with “Tattoo”... An acoustic guitar, a drum loop and some simple lyrics... Sounds a lot like something coming from Stargate (producers for Beyonce Knowles (Irreplaceable), Rihanna). But let’s mix it with some Underdogs like Chris Brown and Ne-Yo, add a touch of Robbie Nevil and with an impulse from the Swedish team that were behind Britney’s Toxic we’ve got Jordin Sparks.
When I watched some of the American Idol shows, I got the impression she was trying hard to impose herself. Self-learner, disciplined, she was accomplishing the goal that American idol producers wished for the show: getting the most of you with every week that passes by, moving on up. Somehow she appeared inconsistent if we’re thinking she performed a brilliant “I (who have nothing) “ from Whitney Houston’s songs but her breath fell apart when trying Bon Jovi’s “Living on a prayer”. The audience felt the potential in her, watching her improving performances every week.
Enthusiasm is what brought her the success everybody dreams of. With “Tattoo” she goes way in your soul. She’s like casting a spell somehow. I watched over and over again her coronation song from American Idol. Others refused to sing it, she did it with so much spirit and joy, with so high air and vocalizing it perfectly. She put that great performance on first position of her album and she gets to be the center of attention.
Maybe taking “One step at a time” was the successful formula but I can’t help admiring her for the way she struggled every week... The most deserved song she has on the album is, no doubt, “No air”. She practically gets to show that emotions have been dropped and her voice is strong, with an unique sound, having practically forgotten the doubts everybody had when listening her with that Bon Jovi song. The air is there, in this breathtaking duet with Chris Brown. He’s a couple of rungs higher than her on the maturity ladder, but it forces her to step up, as the melody is going back and forth like a seagull watched on a sunny day...

Dollar Bill...

After 3 years of silence and a great duo with Shakira,Wyclef Jean, ex-leader of The Fugees, makes a spectacular comeback at the end of 2007 with his sixth album, “The Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant”. Starting with the title, cover and the general sound, this album is truly a continuance for his first album, “The Carnival I”.
From the very beginning I must say this is a very social issues album, in particular that of immigrants. The first single released from this album, “Sweetest girl”, expresses in a clear manner the problems of immigrants and if you watch the video (you can find it at the end of this post) you’ll have no doubt about it.
It’s an album showing the multi-genre nature of Wyclef’s sound. Maybe, as usual, the lyrical content is not as attractive as you might think, but the chancing and vibrant attention fives a solid start, from “Riot” to “China Wine”.
It’s not a classic hip-hop & R&B album, but it does have a strong sense of continuity that will keep you listening to it time after time. The sound feels good, you get absorbed by it and start moving your feet instantly... The tracks are radio friendly and enjoyable, except maybe for “Any other day” which is not quite from the same sound area, it will make you touch the “skip” button. Still, the songs are well produced and mastered, they have a strong musical line that is well defined. The creativeness that Wyclef & Co demonstrates with this album reminds of the extremely known signature of “The Fugees” sound.
There are tracks like “Hollywood meets Bollywood” where sounds from the UK Asian scene mix great together with the unmistakable vocals of “Chamillionaire” and create a special kind of “club-banger” which proves to be a favorite up-tempo from the record. Also, the collaborations that proved to be successful before tunes up the album, giving it powerful lyrics, smooth beats and magical vocals. It proves that Wyclef got it right this time, the album was worth waiting for. You can feel the tingles in your spine, always a good sing of a winner.