Brian McKnight was already a force in R&B music when his seventh album, U-Turn, hit stores in March 2003. The album took inspiration from McKnight’s separation from his wife, evident in the first single, “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda,” where McKnight points out his flaws.
The CD finds McKnight teetering between regret for his former love and enjoying the single life. However, for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to show kudos to one of U-Turn’s album tracks, “Good Enough.”
Brian decided to craft a sensual posse cut for the song. Fellow R&B crooners Carl Thomas, Joe, Tank, & Tyrese join Brian on the song. The singer’s voices all mesh well together throughout the tune’s nearly five-minute run time, with no one trying to outshine his counterpart. I’ve always enjoyed this particular song because it creates a sexy vibe, but it never goes into crass territory or vulgarity to set the mood. It still boggles my mind why the record label didn’t push this one as a single, as the numbers would have been crazy.
Final Grade: B+
“Good Enough” from Brian McKnight’s U-Turn 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.