Montell
Jordan:
Montell Jordan
Release date: June 10, 2002
Album
review by: Annika
Allen
1.
Intro
2.
Anthem (Feat. WC) 
3.
You're The Right One
4.
You Must Have Been
5.
Can't Take It No More
6.
Coulda Woulda Shoulda (Feat. Case)
7. Tasty
8.
Mine Mine Mine
9.
Top Or Bottom
10.
Why Can't We
11. The Rain
12. Are You With Me
13.
The You In Me (Feat. Bishop Eddie L. Long)
If you want to get your waistline pumping to a baseline then you are definitely listening to the wrong album. There are only two words that can be used to describe Montell Jordan's latest offering, and they are love and making. This self-titled album contains some killer slow jams that will have you stripping your clothes off in seconds, if played with the right person. The Marvin Gaye influenced song Why Can't We is definitely recommended for those special moments.
The album opens with an intro with Montell singing about how outstanding his instrumentals are. However, I wouldn't agree with this statement to be said about track 2 entitled MJ's Anthem (featuring WC) or track 3, You're the Right One. In my opinion, they are two mid-tempo tracks that failed to keep my attention. On both tracks, Montell should have made the baseline funkier and the piano keys more striking, instead we are subjected to the monotonous repetitive sound of a guitar and piano.
Sadly, this unimaginative sound continues on the next two tracks You Must Have Been and Can't Take It No More. They are easy listening songs that could have been sung and produced by anyone. After listening to tracks 1 to 5, you may feel as if you wasted your money. However, never fear, the album does progressively improve. Stand out tracks include Tasty along with the head nodding Mine, Mine, Mine and the smooth gospel track The You In Me, which is a great track, similar to Blackstreet's gospel track The Lord Is Real.
Montell is now on his fifth album and over the year's as he has grown older, his musical style seems to have mellowed out. Gone are the days where he had us dancing hard to club classics like This Is How We Do It and Get It On Tonite. Today we are hearing a more emotional and laid back Montell. So, unless you're into slow jams, you may at first get put off or even, fall asleep due to the tempo of his latest offering. Montell no longer cares about getting our ass' shaking in the clubs. He's now trying to connect with his listeners emotionally. This is evident when listening to Coulda Woulda Shoulda (featuring Case) which is aimed at anybody who regrets losing a past love. He sings:
"If I coulda' seen inside her I would have seen her broken heart/ I woulda' held on tighter and we wouldn't be falling apart/ I shoulda' said I love her a thousand times a day/ and I wouldn't be sitting here coulda' woulda' shoulda' my whole damn life away."
Notice the creative use of the title in the lyrics? Montell really is a talented songwriter, fantastic at telling stories through his song lyrics. He demonstrated this clearly on a track which can be found on his 1999 album Lets Get It On Tonite with the song Once Upon A Time and again with Deborah Cox's smash hit Nobody's Supposed To Be Here.
Montell is an established artist, but I predict moderate sales for this album, partly because of the average sounding beats. He is clearly a lyrical genius - His first album This Is How We Do It being Def Jam's first album to hit number 1 on the top albums chart, holding the top spot for two months. However today's story is different from yesterdays and Montell's popularity has slightly dwindled, meaning he often tends to get over looked in his field. He is one of those singers that will release a track or an album, then a couple of months later it will be forgotten about. Not because his music isn't good, but because his songs just don't have any elements to distinguish them from the rest of the artists around. Montell will never reach the status of R & B veteran R. Kelly or even repeat the success of his debut album, but he is guaranteed to always be around, even if nobody seems to know it.
Favorite tracks:
2.
Anthem (Feat. WC)
6.
Coulda Woulda Shoulda (Feat. Case)
10.
Why Can't We
2.5 out of 5
by Annika Allen
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