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.
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.