Love Mysterio Barry White was already an icon when his nineteenth studio album, The Icon Is Love, hit stores on October 4, 1994. Growing up, I always heard Barry’s name or music during the quiet storm but didn’t truly appreciate it. However, when he did a voice cameo and performed “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe on “Whacking Day,” the twentieth episode of season 4 of The Simpsons, his coolness factor raised a notch for twelve-year-old me. Thanks to my mom and my late Gramps, Barry’s music was readily accessible.
From a sales point of view, Barry’s most enormous success was in the seventies. However, he continued to make quality albums. Led by the seductive single “Practice What You Preach,” The Icon Is Love would achieve double platinum success. There is a simmering arrangement and evocative lyric in “Practice What You Preach,” which feature the production skills of Gerald LeVert and Edwin Nicholas. Throughout the track, White combines enthusiasm and dynamism with a delicate blend. With a captivating melody and sultry female backing vocals, this already outstanding track is enhanced even more.
The successful musical kinship between White, Levert, and Nicholas carries over to “There It Is,” a mid-tempo ballad that every grown man should play for his lady during a night about her. White delivers an effective spoken word to set the mood before crooning a note. Legendary producers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis provide the next track, “I Only Want to Be With You, ” reminding me of White’s seventies work. Jam & Lewis also lace their talents to “Come On,” another mid-tempo winner.
White’s Godson and vastly underrated musician Chuckii Booker laces Barry with the dance floor-ready bops “The Time Is Right” and “Sexy Undercover,” both of which still sound fresh. Barry also finds time to work with long-time collaborator Jack Perry on the “Love Is the Icon” and “Whatever We, We Had.” The former comes off a bit as filler, considering the strength of the material that precedes the song.
However, “Whatever We, We Had” is ten minutes of slow jam bliss. The song is a breakup song, but when Mr. White says, “We started as friends so there’s no reason why we should not end as friends,” “Whatever we had, we had its over, it is over now,” he’s able to comfort even the most brokenhearted.
The Icon Is Love features a modernized sound that caters to both new and old fans. In hindsight, the album is A textbook example of how a legacy can still release new music without changing the formula.
Final Grade: A
The Icon Is Love is available on all streaming platforms.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit 2004 and highlight Romeo’s debut solo album, formerly of Immature. Titled “Food for Thought” and released on June 22nd, this project marked the singer’s change of name to Young Rome in an effort to distance himself from the youthful sound of his group, much like his bandmate Marques Houston had done a year earlier.
In the nineties, Hip-Hop reigned supreme, and every label CEO wanted a share of the lucrative R&B market. One strategy was to keep singers on their roster who could deliver catchy hooks, keeping everything in-house and saving money. Bad Boy had Carl Thomas, Death Row had Danny Boy, and Roc-A-Fella had Rell, our featured artist for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday
Growing up in the eighties, I was surrounded by incredibly talented male R&B singers who could deliver unforgettable love songs. Artists like Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, and Peabo Bryson dominated the airwaves, but Freddie Jackson was another voice that truly deserved recognition.