Anthony Hamilton
Back to Love
Release Date: Dec 13, 2011
Genre(s): Rap, R&B, Adult Contemporary R&B
Record label: RCA
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Album Review: Back to Love by Anthony Hamilton
Excellent, Based on 5 Critics
Based on rating 5/5
It isn't just metal singers who can tell you about Satan; it's also R&B men who spent time in church choirs. On "Woo," a highlight of his fourth LP, Anthony Hamilton admits cheating and blames the devil for supplying temptation; he also admits sinning's been glorious. In spartan tracks that evoke but never imitate Al Green and Teddy Pendergrass, Hamilton whispers offers of courtly behavior he says would make Oprah jealous.
Based on rating A-
Few soul singers portray love’s vicissitudes as realistically as Hamilton: ”Let’s catch a movie, then dinner/Tonight’s the night we’ll just unwind,” he suggests on the beautifully understated ”Best of Me.” Back to Love is as solid as any of his previous six albums, but its high points are the three tunes co-produced by Babyface, including the slow-burning ”Pray for Me” and ”Mad,” a funky juke-joint jam about owning one’s emotions. A- Download These:Slinky single WooKeri Hilson-assisted Never Let Go .
Based on rating 8/10
Some of the interviews and press released in support of Anthony Hamilton's first RCA album (and sixth overall) were slightly misleading. Some readers might have been led to believe that Back to Love would offer a significant break from Hamilton's past work; the singer noted that he did not want to be pigeonholed as "the sad cat," that he was "ready to have some fun. " Hamilton even talked about "taking things to the next level.
Based on rating 6/10
In the mid-2000s, Anthony Hamilton was positioned as something of a male counter to Erykah Badu’s feral femininity. With his southern affectations and distinctly masculine vocals, Hamilton played as a stark contrast to the majority of male R&B performers at the time, and his personalized subject matter only made that distinction more clear. He was a refreshing enough performer that the six years he spent floating in the ephemera that is the world of independent R&B between 1996 and 2002 culminated in multiple Grammy wins and a status as a must-hear artist for years to come.
Opinion: Excellent
SNOOP DOGG & WIZ KHALIFA “Mac & Devin Go to High School: Music From and Inspired by the Movie”. (Doggy Style/Rostrum/Atlantic).
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