The best word I can think of to describe McKnight’s music and the man himself is smooth. The opposite of that would be uneven or abrasive. Now there is nothing uneven or abrasive about McKnight and that goes from the bright smile to the perfectly fitting wardrobe and from his soaring notes that turn seductive when he purrs in his low tones. The guy has suave written all over him. The best comparison I can think of to his singing is the sight of Michael Jordan on the hardcourt, lithe and confident like a dancer. McKnight is like that and he brings the same quiet elegance to every song he performs.
McKnight’s recently released Gemini is another one of his immaculately produced efforts. Remember Brian McKnight, I Remember You, Anytime, Back at One, Superhero, U-Turn and that great Christmas album Bethlehem? Made up mostly of his own compositions, Gemini is R&B music as we have always envisioned it should be, smooth and soulfully romantic, and certainly not the cluttered, sample and ad-lib driven examples we have been getting of late.
This does not mean though that McKnight is not in step with the times. Two cuts in the album are laced with rap and this is something he does from time to time in his albums. You Should Be Mine (Don’t Waste Your Time) with Ma$e from Anytime is one example. In Gemini, these are She, a confession letter to a woman about finding another girl where he collaborates with Talib Kweli and Musiq and the dance grooved Whatcha Gonna Do? with rappers Juvenile and Skip and singer Akon. His fans will not be disappointed though that he has again decided to play around with hip-hop. McKnight’s ballad artistry remains consistent and uncompromised throughout.
Even if the first single releases, What We Do Here and Every Time You Go Away are already the acknowledged big sellers from the album, I really do not see any cut turning into a big hit like his Back at One. Neither do I advise listeners to play favorites from among the other songs, Grown Man Business, Everything I Do, Here with You, All Over Now, Stay, Come Back, Your Song and Me & You.
Gemini is one of those albums meant to be enjoyed in its totality. McKnight in his characteristic easy smooth style glides from one cut to the other, enjoining listeners to savor the various emotions he puts forth with the music. There is that word again. Smooth.
Then there is another disc and this is what makes this collection doubly interesting. Housed in this separate disc is a new album that has all the hits but with interesting and simpler acoustic arrangements. Devoid of all the instrumental frills, Seal’s vocals come across with deeper intensity. Presented with just a guitar or in the case of Killer, with a marimba, what seemed ready to be listed in the archives of pop history are made new again.
Take special note of Bacharach’s Walk on By. Seal’s electronica dance version in the first CD goes sweetly acoustic in the second. This and the rest of the album should make local record producers rethink the way they do their hit compilations.