Anthony Hamilton - Back to Love

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    There’s a difference between ‘staying in one’s lane’ and becoming stagnant, and that’s the burden of every artist who wants to evolve and remain relevant in their chosen field. Anthony Hamilton found himself at such a crossroads in 2008, wanting to be seen as more than a melancholy musician and stretching his style with urbanized optimism on his sixth major-label studio release, The Point of It All. It would’ve been easy for Mr. Hamilton to replicate that successful mold, but instead he continues to expand on the merits of his down-home, Southern-flavored rhythm and blues, bringing eloquence and introspection to his seventh CD, Back To Love.

    There’s a difference between ‘staying in one’s lane’ and becoming stagnant, and that’s the burden of every artist who wants to evolve and remain relevant in their chosen field. Anthony Hamilton found himself at such a crossroads in 2008, wanting to be seen as more than a melancholy musician and stretching his style with urbanized optimism on his sixth major-label studio release, The Point of It All. It would’ve been easy for Mr. Hamilton to replicate that successful mold, but instead he continues to expand on the merits of his down-home, Southern-flavored rhythm and blues, bringing eloquence and introspection to his seventh CD, Back To Love.

    Since a part of Mr. Hamilton’s appeal is his humble ‘everyman’ persona, Mr. Hamilton doesn’t shy away from pouring out his heart’s contents about love and life in sparsely-arranged yet soul-shattering tracks, with enough polish and precision worked in to keep it moving. “Writing On The Wall,” a saucy midtempo, portrays a man aware of his lady’s foul rep but all-too-willing to find out for himself how bad she really is: “It’s alright, I don’t wanna hear it/it’s my life and I’m grooooooown.” “Pray For Me,” one of the three songs on which he collaborated with Babyface, offers one of the collection’s  most poignant moments, expressing heartbroken remorse at betraying his soul mate for a booty call as he begs for divine intervention to set it right: “Thought I was something, really something/in the end who knew I’d end up with nothing? I was frontin’, truly, frontin’/Girl I really can’t be mad I had it coming.” Wiry guitar licks and a driving funk beat propel “Sucka For You,” an ode to an irresistible woman and an invigorating contrast to the sultry rhythms of “Woo,” which bubbles and simmers as Mr. Hamilton’s raspy croon paints the picture of a man leaving behind the tried-and-true to sample temptation: “It was heavy, like Delilah, set my soul on fire/Oooh, Girl you so BAD.”

    But just like any other adult, Mr. Hamilton knows that honeymoons only last for so long and some days offer more famine than feast: “Never Let Me Go,” a surprisingly supple duet with Keri Hilson, couples his grainy vocals with her sugary ones as her past demons and his determination to overcome them threaten a new relationship: “But if I love you (I’ll never let you go), how can I trust you (just tell me what you want)/to be there when I need you (Girl put your heart in mine), then I promise that I’ll never let you go.”

    Opening the CD with a subtle sheen of melancholy and foreboding is the title track, a mission statement set to music as Hamilton wonders aloud, in a tender falsetto, how to rekindle their cooling romance, while “Best Of Me,” sways with a tropical feel and is delivered with understated elegance. Reverb and regret echo throughout “Who’s Loving You,” a “Purple Rain”-recalling torch ballad about the struggle to let go (“You say you wanna be alone girl, but I see you holding his hand/cuz’ love is your religion girl, you might hate the song, but you love the band”), and a decidedly Bill Withers influence weaves in and out of “Life Has a Way,” a harrowing come-to-Jesus lament with subtle, sandpaper-like percussion and throbbing guitar notes that frame the words of a broken man who, once on top of the world, now teeters on the edge: “And my children still look up to me while their stomachs’ on empty/Oh, I need an angel to fall on me now.”

    Self-possessed, skillfully-rendered and brimming with honesty, Anthony Hamilton does exactly what he’s expected to do--give anyone in the range of his voice a hearty dose of sincere and spectacularly-delivered soul music. What it may lack in flash is made up for in fervor, so any fan of Anthony’s should be more than ready to jump on-board and get Back To Love. Highly Recommended.  

    By Melody Charles