Album Review: BRIDGES by Joe


Smooth crooner Joe returns with his eleventh release Bridges, a collection of songs that effectively showcases his brand of sophisticated modern R&B. Picking up where 2009's Signature left off, Bridges features a variety of musical textures that range from his trademark contemporary offerings to live instrumentation that recaptures 60's 70's and  80's soul's greatest moments.

 Vibrant album opener Future Teller's catchy guitar riff is reminiscent of the Spinners' Philly Soul classic I'll Be Around. In the vein of Signature's mid tempo stepper Sensitive Lover, the track flips the fortune teller concept in favor of in the pocket lover man come-ons ("You make me tell the truth/Can't have a single lie/What are my chances of taking you home tonight?").

The SOS Band's percussive No One's Gonna Love You propels album first single Love Sex Pt. 2 featuring Kelly Rowland, demonstrating their natural chemistry and winning streak of seamless and organic hit collaborations.

Love Sex Hollywood effectively captures the Minneapolis Sound right down to the backing vocal chants, funky synths and Prince-like falsetto that would be right at home on the For You, Controversy and 1999 albums.

Album centerpiece If You Lose Her delivers poetic love advice that sounds like it was pulled from the Smokey Robinson songbook ("So you think that a flicker in your flame/Is your regimen of loving her/Is still the same") cleverly incorporating Hall and Oates' Sara Smile.
 Cautionary companion Sex As A Weapon's features Motown's shuffling backbeat and penchant for clever couplets ("Girl, I wanna make love/But you wanna make war/If its just another chore I don't want it/I know you are hungry/But you wanna starve me/But a queen bee shouldn't hold back its honey").

Joe continues the retro ride with Til The Ropes Give Way, a soul belter whose dramatic and swooping strings evoke Percy Sledge's When A Man Loves A Woman and Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come. The female background vocals at the bridge are pure ear candy.

The introspective The Rest Will Follow channels the Isley Brothers while the message driven Love Undefeated captures the intensity of the post disco dance floor anthems from the Jacksons. First Lady is a stunning track inspired by Barry White's Let The Music Play and the Honey Cone's Want Ads while Shalamar's Make That Move informs Take It To The House. Joe even pulls in rapper 50 Cent for Mary Jane, a fly sendup of the Rick James classic, taking it back when he had the R&B/HipHop collabo game on smash.

Bridges is Joe's sixth release in seven years demonstrating a momentum that is rare in today's urban music landscape. The album's retro vibe serves as a welcome addition to music collections of fans old enough to remember when their favorite artists dropped a record every year.

Bridges works on all levels due to its live feel, creative range and songwriting, a pleasant departure from R&B's current fixation with electronic dance music while living up to its title merging a myriad of styles into quality package that requires repeated listening.

                                                                                                                           --Sheldon Taylor

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