Review: Kenny Lattimore – Anatomy Of A Love Song

I’m a writer and musician. I’m also an unashamed 90s R&B nut. The way I grew up resulted in an unrelenting exposure to the likes of Jodeci, Joe, Blackstreet, Brian McKnight, Boyz II Men, and a plethora of other sensitive, soulful black singers – including Kenny Lattimore, who initially found success as the lead singer of Maniquin. Kenny’s effortless, soulful vocals, led to him quickly leaving the band to pursue a solo career, releasing his self-titled LP in 1996. His solo debut reached gold status, no mean feat if you consider the saturation of R&B in the mid-90s. Until 2008 there’s been a steady release of material from Kenny Lattimore, including two duet albums with his wife at the time, Chante Moore. His 27-year career has seen some highs and lows, but I had high hopes for his first release in seven years – Anatomy Of A Love Song.

Often stating how his music was an attempt to portray the image of black men as strong, sensitive and loving, I guessed this LP would be ripe with romantic lyricism, offset with classic R&B melodies, but wondered how this would marry with a 2015 audience. The instrumentation in this genre has changed dramatically, and with contemporary key figures like Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Frank Ocean implementing far more modern beats and auto-tune into their music, I wondered how far this would be considered in Kenny Lattimore’s evolution.

Anatomy Of A Love Song starts on a high note. The opening track and lead single “Love Me Back” makes successful use of retro, 80s-inspired drum machine beats and a smooth piano riff paves the way for a catchy chorus, while the song seems to fuse a tried and tested R&B formula with a modern synthy sound. This throwback sound is amplified in the second track, where Kenny does exactly what he says in the chorus – ‘remix my old-school’. The theme continues into the third track, “Heart Stops”, an easy love letter which showcases Kenny’s faultless falsetto. “Still Good” features an unexpected rap by Da T.R.U.T.H., and around track number seven, “Nothing Like You” (featuring Lalah Hathaway), the love affair begins to wane.

The vocals become almost saccharine and strained. I applaud the homage to the older soul and gospel sounds of yore, but the lyrics got tired, like in the case of track number eight, where he sings “I love you cause you’re my girl”. Really? And there are more than enough allusions to making sweet love. A lack of layering is perhaps an attempt to let Kenny’s perfectly competent vocals shine purely, but leaves the tracks feeling thin, devoid of the creaminess of his previous releases. There’s something in the production that leaves some parts overdone and some parts in desperate need of a polish.

In addition, the songs, although perfectly listenable, don’t really have a climax. I’m all in favor of smooth grooves, but in contrast we need a kick, a break. The part that you yell inaudibly at your friends in the packed club you’re dancing in. This is perfectly radio-friendly, modern R&B fare, but the middle portion of this album drags. That’s not to say this record isn’t worth a listen. It does flow and concludes well with “Beautiful Nowheres”, a rocky track that hints at gentleness and dissatisfaction and leaves the listener with a sense of where the eclecticness of the sounds of this album came from.

 
Written by Soraya Heydari

Soraya is a primarily musical creature who has chosen to forgo a life of security to write full time as a freelancer, and is rarely scurrying around in her lair after midnight. She enjoys a range of music, books, and occasionally cooking.

 
Author’s rating for Anatomy Of A Love Song

Pop Magazine’s official rating for Anatomy Of A Love Song

Rating key
MASTERPIECE a must-have
SUPERB for heavy rotation
EXCELLENT a great achievement
VERY GOOD a respectable result
GOOD worth checking out
FAIR an average outcome
WEAK not convincing stuff
BAD an underwhelming effort
VERY BAD quite a waste
FAIL a total failure