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Who ever would have guessed that Alaska would produce a woman
with beauty, charisma, innocence,
sincerity and a talent to sing R&B? Unbelievable as it is,
Amerie is native to Alaska. Not that she's exactly a newbie on
the hip hop scene anymore, since she has been having some
grand appearances with the likes of Nas, Royce Da 5'9" and LL
Cool J, along with hosting a show on BET now. Her potential is
clearly seen, but is it clearly delivered on her debut album
"All I Have"?
She starts the CD with her first release "Why Don't We Fall In
Love", and it has a very nice feel to it with nice complex
harmonies and excellent background instruments. The premise of
the song is pretty simple, falling in love with a person she's
been hiding her feelings for, although not lyrically complex
in the least it does ring true to life. Next is "Talkin' To
Me" which also happens to be her second solo release. Once
again, the lyrics are nothing to concentrate on as much as the
general feeling the song helps create with its heart-spoken
songstress. A very mellow production really generates a sense
of love-filled presence.
"Nothing Like Loving You" is right on par with the first two
tracks, the chorus is nothing short of lovely to listen to but
that's almost all you hear for the entire song. A set of quads
in the background, and some chimes here and there are still
going for that aroma of emotional reminiscence. "Can't Let Go"
starts right off with a harp and piano rift that shifts
straight over to the slightly up-tempo laced beat.
Unfortunately this song does not really work due to the
lyric/notes/flow of her words, it doesn't compliment her all
that well and comes off slightly forced. While her voice is
still good, it definitely isn't at its peak.
"Need You Tonight" is the attempt at the party starter joint,
however it simply gets tiring by the time the fourth measure
hits. The beat gets old quickly and she's still singing in the
same key that she's been in since the start of the CD, towards
the end she goes for some Mary J. Blige style stabs. The next
song on the track list is "Got To Be There", and it manages to
hit some beautiful harmonies, but she's still in the same dang
key and singing the same pitches. At this point the beats are
also managing to blend together, not a good sign. There needs
to be an amount of refreshing ingenuity when the next song
starts up, but not so much that it won't fit well into the
track listing, and so far this has not been accomplished.
The next selection is "I Just Died", and finally there is a
fresh beat and this is a fresh breath of air and demonstrates
a better dexterity for her vocals. She assumes for the most
part a whispered voice and the chorus is nice, using an
analogy of falling in love with that of dying as if to say she
loves her man to death, and does not desire to be brought back
to life. There are once again some real nice melodic mixtures
with her vocals which makes you pay attention and wish you
could sing. "Hatin On You" is just a track filler, nothing to
make special note of and something to just add onto the CD. It
is actually the lyrics and style that makes it such a boring
song that you may drift off while listening, I did, ain't I
supposed to be reviewing this?
The intro to "Float" definitely builds up a good bit of hope
with a mixture of talking and her voice drops a little before
the beat hits, and it is a nice beat. She gets another chance
to flip up her style and it works pretty well, but now the
only problem is that the harmonies are beginning to feel
overdone yet it still remains beautifully sung making this a
nice addition. "Show Me" has a traditional beat similar to
"Nothing Like Loving You", a very ordinary R&B rhythm.
Apparently in the studio it never gets tiring to use a harmony
for the chorus and sing over it, because it's been done on
every track thus far. This song fits into the selection a
little too plainly.
My last hope rests on "All I Have" for something great to
happen on this CD, which is for the most part a success with
the intro laced with a few guitar rifts gently laid down,
very nice. The chorus is a pure delight (yes, it is very
harmonious) but it brings a somewhat unique feel with a more
urgent beat yet she lays back on it to bring in her own vibe.
It's very R&B, but not cliché. The "Outro" is a quick
reflective track with a hard piano and a few touches in the
back from an organ, a nice beat and the lyrics point to a
basic shout out to God, thanking him for her blessings.
Overall, the disc becomes boring at spots due to the overuse
of the vocal techniques used. It would have been much better
if they had kept "Why Don't We Fall In Love", "Talkin' To Me",
"I Just Died", "Float", "All I Have" and the "Outro" and just
brought in a more thought-out seven tracks to leave a much
more lasting impression on the audience. With the exception of
those songs, the rest are sub par and may not even need a full
listen before anxiousness sets in. However, potential is
clearly seen here and for a debut album this is not horrible
but it does reveal weaknesses that will undoubtedly be worked
on before a future release. Due to the points of total
boredom, I give this 2.5 Planets.Track Listing:
01. Why Don't We Fall In Love
02. Talkin' To Me
03. Nothing Like Loving You
04. Can't Let Go
05. Need You Tonight
06. Got To Be There
07. I Just Died
08. Hatin' On You
09. Float
10. Show Me
11. All I Have
Skrabble Rating:
2.5 out of 5 Planets
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