Ten by Brian McKnight
 
Best-selling singer, composer, and producer Brian McKnight releases his first album for Warner Bros. Records, entitled Ten. The album is the Grammy-nominated singer's tenth album overall. McKnight describes the album, which ranges from his signature soul ballads to smooth, sleek R&B, as the same old Brian, just better. "On this record, from beginning to end, you can tell that there weren't a lot of things on my mind other than the music," says Brian. McKnight has sold more than 16 million records worldwide since his platinum self-titled debut was released in 1992. As a songwriter and producer, the Buffalo, New York, native has recorded with some of the music industry's biggest stars, including Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Willie Nelson, Nelly, Vanessa Williams, and Kenny G.
 

A funny thing happens around track three of Ten, Brian McKnight's intricate, nuanced, and very grown-up follow-up to 2005's Gemini: he starts sounding like Daryl Hall. It's a blip overall, but it's indicative of McKnight's chameleon-like way with an R&B song. At times he stands unapologetically in the shadows of Marvin Gaye (see "Shoulda Been Lovin' You"), at times he tries on Luther Vandross's silky tones ("Don't Take Your Love Away"), and at times he leans in a direction that seems carved from a cross-section of the two ("Holdin' On"). The dip into Daryl Hall is a neat addition--a cool swerve that should protect McKnight from predictability charges. More than that, it demonstrates a clear-eyed artistic approach. It doesn't necessarily make him a smooth-singing maverick, though. Tim & Bob, the studio wizards who helped score hits for Bobby Valentino, Donell Jones, and others, co wrote four of Ten's strongest tracks, the radio hit "Used To Be My Girl" among them. And Rascal Flatts, the country act, teams up for the flag-waving, well-intentioned "Red, White, and Blue." McKnight's maneuvers, shot through with versatility, haven't failed him yet; on a scale of one to ten, Ten rates a nine. --Tammy La Gorce

 

 

 

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