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Carl
Thomas
Emotional
By Carla Robinson
When I first heard “I Wish,” Carl Thomas’ chart topping debut
single, I was struck by its soulful authenticity and, immediately, I wanted more. It made
me hunger for the days when radio was filled with the stirring melodies and electrifying
vocals of songs like Donny Hathaway’s “You Were Meant For Me,” Stevie
Wonder’s “All In Love Is Fair,” and Peabo Bryson’s “Feel the
Fire.” “I Wish” has a rightful place amid songs this moving, this soulful.
A journey through the rest of Emotional, Thomas’ album, doesn’t yield such high
marks.
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Long the favored hook singer for Bad Boys’ rap roster, including
Biggie and Black Rob (and other rappers, too), Thomas now has the honor of being the
premier R&B crooner on the label, and his music is refreshingly true to form. Just
like the soul records of old, the 17 tracks on Emotional tell stories of love and the cost
of ecstasy, but as a whole, the album leaves something to be desired.
Its crown jewel is Thomas’ voice. The buttery singer has my favorite thing when it
comes to expressing the pain of emotional loss: a tear in his voice. The ability to make
one’s voice cry is a gift, and I’m not convinced such impressive vocal control
goes well with a drum machine. As a result, “Emotional,” the title track, is
almost anything but. Like too many of the album’s songs, its arrangement is watery
and predictable. Still, die-hard R&B fans may welcome Emotional into their
collections.
M
August 2000 |
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