Throughout “Sensitivity” and his later work, Ralph Tresvant’s high tenor voice had evolved from his squeaky Michael Jackson manqué to a more polished and refined high tenor tone. As far as his voice is concerned, he was still a perfect fit for a romantic or good-guy ballad, and “Sensitivity” from the 1990’s worked like a charm and became a classic.
During the recording of the 1988 album Heart Break, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis collaborated with Tresvant’s group New Edition. As a result of using these two producers for his solo album, Ralph Tresvant has one of the most outstanding songs on the Ralph Tresvant CD. The team had also worked with Alexander O’Neal during his tenure, and “Sensitivity” is similar to his work but with a lighter touch and voice.
Having said that, this song is probably only able to work if the singer has a soft, appealing voice and a charismatic personality that will help this song shine. It is Tresvant’s deal here, and he does it exceptionally well. . In my opinion, the biggest accomplishment in Tresvant’s voice was the fact that he managed to convey that sensitivity could be viewed as a virtue. I like how he did not make it sound like a wimpy or wishy-washy statement, nor did he seem to be trying to get even more dates by using it as a ploy.
It was recorded at the renowned Flyte Time Studios in Minneapolis, where the song was recorded. Although much of the R&B of the early 1990s did not make it through the times all that well, “Sensitivity” manages to succeed mainly due to Tresvant’s vocals and Jam and Lewis’ classic R&B sense of melody and rhythm.
Final Grade: A
Sensitivity is available on all streaming platforms
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.
One wonderful aspect of supporting physical media is that I never run short of albums to choose from when deciding what to cover for Second Listen Sunday. Often, I’ll head to the man cave, browse through my CD collection, and an album will pop out at me. This week’s pick is T-Pain’s fourth album, “Revolver.”
One of my favorite singers, Mr. Eric Roberson, is performing this weekend at America’s legendary music venue, The Birchmere. To show Eric some love, I want to highlight something longtime R&B fans have always known: he’s had remarkable songwriting talent.