Born and raised in Brooklyn, Lillo Thomas aspired to reach the top of the world of sports. However, a 1984 automobile accident in Brazil stopped that. The tragedy prevented him from competing at the 1984 Olympics, for which he had already qualified. Nevertheless, Thomas found another passion in the world of music.
Thomas found success pretty quickly and even toured as Eddie Murphy’s opening act. However, I wanted to take a gander at the singer’s third album, Lillo, for this week’s Second Listen Sunday album. Thomas opens up his third project with the dance floor-ready bop “I’m In Love” and keeps the vibe going on the album’s next track, “Her Love.”
I was also fond of “Sexy Girl” and “Downtown.” With the uptempo material, the only weak song was the album’s closer “Put Your Foot Down,” which has the vibe of a filler song. However, given that I’m a ballad guy, those are the songs that I gravitated to on this project.
“Sweet Surredner” and “That Guy Could Have Been Me” are decent album tracks. Thomas does Otis Redding justice with his cover of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now).” My favorite cut on the project is the hit single “Wanna Make Love (All Night Long).” The production is set to a lush arrangement. The track is a sensual mood setter that avoids vulgarity and takes us back to more specific times when it comes to romance.
Final Grade: B
Lillo is available on all streaming platforms.
There are some albums you revisit because of nostalgia, and then there are albums you return to because they remind you just how high the standard used to be. Anita Baker’s Rapture falls into that second category. Released in 1986, the album did more than make Baker a star. It helped define what sophisticated, grown R&B could sound like without losing any soul, sensuality, or personality.
Gwen Stefani had already established herself as a significant force with No Doubt when she released her debut solo album, *Love. Angel. Music. Baby* in 2004. This week, while my iPod was on shuffle, one of my favorite songs from that project, “The Real Thing,” came on. Although the original version has an upbeat new-wave feel, the Slow Jam Mix takes it to another level and is the perfect choice for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
Unless you’re a music purist, mentioning Randy Jackson from the famous family is likely to elicit a joke. However, any serious Jackson fan knows that Randy had musical achievements long before the punchlines. Before he was old enough to buy a drink, he had already co-written “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” and “Lovely One” with Michael Jackson.