Musically the New Jersey born singer/songwriter Raheem DeVaughn’s music has interested me for some time. However something about his previous album A Place Called Loveland left me cold enough to return this album back to the store. The first time I ever actually did so with an album. When I heard the follow up was being realesed this year? I approached it with the idea of having an open mind and heart to an artist that presented the ability with what I’ve heard from him to do wonderful things musically. So considering the fact that DeVaughn seems to be linking each successive album in terms of a conceptual pattern? This still presented it’s own distinctive type of musical power even within that context.
This album essentially balances itself out across several stylistic approaches to it’s cycle of romance lyrical concept. After opening up with a musical recap of the previous album? Songs such as “Black Ice Cream”,”Miss Your Sex”,”Strip” and “Sun Proof (50 Shades)” all evoke different end of the Minneapolis approach to romantic soul balladry with a mixture of multiple vocal responses and dramatic drum machine and synthesizer orchestration-as well as some Southern Soul rhythm guitar riffing on the latter. “Queen” is a thick piano driven slow crawling funky soul ballad while “Nothing Without You” deals with a rhythmically percussive yet stripped down jazzy funk number. “Pretty Love” meanwhile is a passionately rhythmic dance/funk groove featuring the talents of Trombone Shorty-showcasing another strong Afro-Latin inspired percussion solo on the bridge.
“Temperature’s Rising” is a locked right in,bass synth accented slowed up funk stomp with DeVaughn and his own harmony’s acting equally as melodic and percussive elements. “All I Know In My Heart” is a pulsing,stripped down contemporary number while “When You Love Somebody”,”Terms of Endearment” and “Baby Come Back” are all greasy Southern Soul rhythm guitar and organ oriented ballads. “The last section of the album is something of a miniature cinematic soul suite of songs starting with the Leon Ware inspired string and rhythm section uptempo movement of “Countdown To Love,with it’s Brazilian drum pattern. “Feather Rock Lovin'” combines the approaches of Boney James along with The Illadelph Horns to express a mildly slower tempo’d variation of that sound with DeVaughn responding again between his vocal sighs,coos and cries. “Infiniti” ends the album with a climactic piano driven gospel soul tribute to romantic success.
So many male soul/funk artists since the mid 80’s have been somewhat recklessly declared “the next Marvin Gaye. From what I hear from this particular album? Raheem DeVaughn is one of a few artists in contemporary music who truly embody that identity. DeVaughn showcases on this album his grasp of the link in the chain between Marvin and Prince’s lustfully passionate themes as well as their two very different techniques of orchestration big,dramatic soul/funk music. The neo soul aspects of DeVaughn’s basic sound are there-from the vinyl scratch effects to the Southern style rhythm guitars. But the man’s powerfully jazzy gospel/soul pipes and dramatic instrumentation add a vitality and funkiness to the overall sound I seldom hear from artists who came out of neo soul. Honestly one of the very finest and complete musical statements I’ve heard Raheem DeVaughn do thus far!
Originally posted on February 17th,2015
Andresmusictalk 