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Reviews
Keith Sweat
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Released: 12th August 2002.
US soul star Keith Sweat has been on the scene for 15 years enjoying huge success in his homeland, yet popularity in the UK has largely eluded him; will the self-produced "Rebirth" change that?
I wasn't very familiar with Sweat's past efforts before hearing his latest effort but the facts and figures sounded extremely promising: In the States he's had five consecutive No. 1 albums and 15 top ten singles on the R&B chart including seven No. 1s! Perhaps this is the reason why I was disappointed by "Rebirth" and felt it wasn't a particularly impressive introduction to such an established artist.
The first half of the album is dedicated to the dance floor; the best of these and possibly the best song on the album is first track "I Want You", which mixes hip hop beats with a little slice of funk. Unfortunately this is as far as any sign of innovation goes. At a time where urban music is exploring different incarnations there's just no room on the scene for a sound which we've heard a thousand times before and the result is pretty forgettable.
From track 7 the mood changes by delving into the dull balladry which Sweat seems more accustomed to. "One On One" is one of those songs which could easily have been made in the 1990s, but now sounds fairly dated. The rest of the LP continues in a very similar vein to a point where the tracks all seem to merge into one.
Sweat seems to have one of those voices which could come from any faceless R&B crooner and I'm left wanting to hear some passion or energy from him. I'd definitely be more inclined to recommend the likes of Joe or Ginuwine who have more destinctive voices and musically build on current trends as opposed to lagging behind them.
Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh, especially considering I'm not the obvious (female) target audience but it just seems to lack the "X-factor" that will set it apart from the rest and keep you hooked. Don't get me wrong, it's far from being bad and it has its "nice" moments but there seems to be little to get excited about. Possibly with a few more listens but I'm not about to hold my breath.
