Having not watched the first season of American Idol, I didn’t initially feel I had missed anything. C’mon, the dull and untalented Justin Guarini proceeding to the finals over millions of applicants? Surely there had to have been some real talents getting covered up somewhere down the line, right? So when the second season of American Idol was announced, my curiosity grew. Not because I’m a fan of pop idols, but because I was just curious of the entire AI process and what these hopefuls needed to do in this contest in order to make it to the top.

Along comes Ruben Studdard, this burly brother from Alabama with a voice from the heavens. Immediately, after his first tryout and receiving his ticket to Hollywood, I picked this cat to win it all. He had ‘Special’ written all over him. However, I had a feeling the American Idol competition would eventually turn into a popularity contest where being popular wins out over real talent. So even with my prediction, I never really thought Ruben would have a shot of being that final singer standing at the end. By now, we all know how that turned out.

The anxiously awaited full-length debut album by Ruben finally dropped on 12/9/03. With his classic throwback style and an album titled ‘Soulful’, I was more than ready to dip into a nice, smooth soul-groove collection by the Rubester.

‘Sorry 2004’ gets the disc flowing in the right direction - hints of over-production, but in the end, a real standout track for Ruben. Savor that moment however because suddenly it is after this point where it feels as if you have just dived off a steep cliff to where the only direction you know you are heading is straight down. The biggest problem is instead of the ending coming a few seconds later from your freefall, you realize the rest of the disc still has 51 minutes remaining.

I wish I could say I am exaggerating, but aside from the first single release of ‘Flying Without Wings’ and a Bee Gees cover which are both nothing more than average renditions, the rest of this effort is absolute trash. How dare this actually be titled ‘Soulful?’ This album is anything but. The entire album is very over-produced, which is just not needed at all with someone who has his type of chops. Instead of a good soul album, it’s littered with boringly bland pop drivel and cheesy-weak hip hop, while also showing absolutely no lyrical prowess. Seriously, were some of these tracks penned by 12 year olds? You almost need to hear it for yourself to believe me how laughable some of these lyrics really are. However that is not an endorsement to go give it a listen. Songs such as ‘Take the Shot ’, ‘Play Our Song ’, ‘What If’ and ‘Don’t Quit on Me’ could all easily be nominated as worst songs of the year. This is a heartless, waste of everyone’s time. Believe me, you have been warned!

It’s really a shame Ruben fell into the wrong hands of money-hungry record execs who just want to make a fast buck off his American Idol fame. But that’s the payoff from being #1 on that show. I feel had Ruben gone out much earlier in the AI competition, he would have been better off and signed on to a record deal with guys who could have steered him and his music in a better direction – a real Soulful direction. Unfortunately that’s not the way it went down and what we have here is quite possibly one of the worst albums of the year. Sorry to say, pack away those 205 jerseys and leave this 1 planet effort on the shelves.

Track Listing:
1. Sorry 2004
2. No Ruben
3. How Can You Mend A Broken Heart
4. Take The Shot
5. What Is Sexy (feat. Fat Joe)
6. What If
7. Superstar
8. Can I Get Your Attention (feat. Pretty Tony)
9. For All We Know
10. Play Our Song
11. Don’t Quit On Me
12. After The Candles Burn
13. Flying Without Wings
14. We Have Not Forgotten (feat. Fred Hammond)

Shamples Rating:  1 out of 5 Planets


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