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While best known for his R&B hits of the 80s and early 90s, Glenn Jones has continued to develop even after his commercial peak, seemingly truly finding his voice with his 1998 release, It's Time. And on Forever: Timeless R&B Classics he raises his game again. There have been more than two dozen classic soul tribute albums in the past two years (and at least a dozen too many) but few have been as consistently pleasing front-to-back as this one.
While best known for his R&B hits of the 80s and early 90s, Glenn Jones has continued to develop even after his commercial peak, seemingly truly finding his voice with his 1998 release, It's Time. And on Forever: Timeless R&B Classics he raises his game again. There have been more than two dozen classic soul tribute albums in the past two years (and at least a dozen too many) but few have been as consistently pleasing front-to-back as this one.
First and foremost, the song selection on Timeless is nearly perfect. Rather than relying on overrecorded Motown and Philly classics, Jones has largely mined underappreciated songs of a more recent vintage, and the result is both less contrived and more enjoyable. Such inspired selections as Peabo Bryson's "Reaching For the Sky," Toni Braxton's "Another Sad Love Song" and Tony Toni Tone's "Anniversary" are given fresh readings here, and all sound great. But the best moment of all is on the fantastic cover of Rene and Angela's "My First Love," with Jones dueting with wife Genobia Jeter Jones.
Producer Chris "Big Dog" Davis, who recently worked on Phil Perry's similar Classic Love Songs, does a creditable job at the helm here, sometimes relying too much on electronics but always keeping the arrangements subdued and allowing Jones' voice to stay in the spotlight. And Jones' voice is simply marvelous - as confident and clear as he's sounded in career. The result is that the tracks, ranging from the long-forgotten Tomorrow's Promise cut "You're Sweet, You're Fine, You're Everything" to the Bobby Womack hit "I Wish He Didn't Trust Me So Much," are given new life as distinct Glenn Jones songs.
Many of the recent classic soul tributes have come off as quickly thrown together, career-resuscitation attempts that have hurt rather than helped the artists' reputations. But Forever: Timeless R&B Classics is an exception: a well performed, well conceived album that successfully spotlights a number of underrated songs of the past few decades as well as the man who sings them. Highly recommended.
by Chris Rizik