"realistic" in the Seventies style and less booty-conscious than those of possibly any other soul artist today. He plays the levelheaded romantic innocent, stunned and sorrowed by the manipulative female of "Is It True," and by his own misdeeds on "Sorry." But, for the most part, the singer has uncynical words of encouragement to offer, insisting to the right girl that it's "Never Too Late," telling his lady to hold on throughout the glistening ballad "Something to See" and bucking up a girl overwhelmed by the demands of adult life on the breezily flowing first single, "Don't You Forget It." Neosoul has had its day; welcome, neoclassic soul, grease-free and offered with a smile.

ARION BERGER
(RS 892 - March 28, 2002)