Al Jarreau & other soul heartthrobs

When do girls stop swooning over singing idols? It is often said that this is what happens when they get into real relationships. Maybe. But it remains a fact that a man with a soulful voice will always have a romantic effect on females no matter how old they are.

Here now are a few good examples of CDs by some of the most admired male R&B artists of today. All are actually balladeers, sexy romantics whose style and incredible voices are so suited to make out music for adults. Think current versions of Lionel Richie, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass and George Benson. But that is not all they can do and you will see that some of them do experiment with other rhythms.

Love Songs by the Grammy winning Al Jarreau, who has been doing this sort of thing for over 40 years and sounds like he is still good for more. Given his unique approach to material, this collection certainly comes from a higher plane. It is however not as jazzy as his other recordings and his fans, who think of Jarreau as a human orchestra may complain that it does not showcase his best.

But as the title clearly says, this CD is about love songs, nothing like Spain here, and Jarreau has a lot of good ones. Besides the songs here are proof that he is indeed one of the greatest vocalists of all time. Now as I am sure his fans know, there have been lots of times when he overdid the vocal acrobatics and listeners lost track of the melodies. So it really feels so good to hear his sweet voice, not scatting or in boombox mode but just moving all nice and easy from one cut to the next in one entire album.

Top favorites After All, So Good, and We’re in This Love Together are all here. So is his great version of Your Song. Now this is an Elton John song but Jarreau definitely does it better and what an excellent arrangement he has. There are also some standards, which he does so well, My Foolish Heart and Teach Me Tonight. So is the underrated Heaven and Earth.

And for those who greatly enjoyed his wonderful performance with the also impressive George Benson at the Araneta Coliseum a few months ago, here is their duet of Let It Rain featuring Patti Austin. Add this to your Christmas wish list or gift list if you are feeling generous. You really cannot afford to miss out on this one.

The rest of the lot

As for the other soul heartthrobs, here is Love & Life by Eric Benet. There is more variety and more varied jazz sounds in Benet’s latest. He does a great job balancing the crooning with social issues he feels strongly about in the CD. But the really great thing about this is that although Benet is handsome and sexy and has some tabloid clout (he was married to Halle Berry, remember?), he has avoided the hip hop scene and chosen to stay with pared down ballads where we can truly appreciate his beautiful voice.

Best of the lot are You’re the Only One, Chocolate Legs and Don’t Let Go. These are the cuts where his singing is really incredible. He hits difficult notes with so much ease. The simple laid-back arrangements also tell us that a voice like Benet’s needs no studio gimmickry to be fully appreciated.

System by Seal: In contrast, Brit soul artist Seal pulls out all stops in his CD. There is only a smattering of his trademark crooning here because he has chosen to have a good time. Check out his Kiss from a Rose if that is what you want. Seal sounds happy and wants to share his feelings with his listeners. So he dances to electronica in most of the cuts, only pulling out a bit to reflect on marriage bliss in a duet with his gorgeous wife Heidi Klum of Project Runway in Wedding Day.

 Hit single Amazing is featured in two different edits, one by the Thin White Duke. This one sets the booming pace for the whole package. The other titles are If It’s in My Mind It’s On My Face, Just Like Before, Loaded, System, Dumb, The Right Life, Rolling, and Immaculate. It is a short, fun production. Not that listeners would care about it, I am sure they would much rather dance. Still take note that although the music is frankly light-hearted, Seal’s lyric writing is solid and substantial.