Charlene Keys could be the result of an R'n'B equivalent of the porn-name generator but, despite being christened for the job, it’s as Tweet that the other Ms Keys chooses to be known.
Emerging in 2002 as part of the Timbaland-led musical insurgence from the deep and dirty South (despite being from NY), her debut single "Oops Oh My" was a thrillingly innovative blend of belching vocal samples and minimal jeep-shaking beats with Keys’ sexy drawl. Unfortunately it was followed by an album (“Southern Hummingbird”) that was instantly forgettable and was, therefore, instantly forgotten.
“It’s Me Again”, Tweet’s second album, is launched on the back of just one comeback single. The Missy Elliot-penned “Turn Da Lights Off” was effective enough with its come-to-bed vocals and Ghostface-style sampling of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “If This World Were Mine” but the album labours the laid-back romantic theme to such an extent that should you “Turn Da Lights Off” you’re likely to fall asleep. It’s clearly intended as a make-out record though is it really possible to get it on to the theme tune of 80s sitcom “Taxi”, on which Tweet’s track of the same name is based, without being distracted by visions of Danny DeVito’s cheeky face?
The Labour Party’s election slogan may be the grammatically challenged “Forward Not Back” but “It’s Me Again” sounds like a concerted effort to go back and recapture the smooth street-soul of the mid '90s. At a time when Usher and Mario, who pedal similarly uninspired slow-jams, are racking up the platinum discs then it must’ve seemed like commercial sense.
There’s just nothing new here, merely a rehashing of old ideas both musically and lyrically. Songs like the tuneless “My Man”; full of tedious territory marking: “He’s my man/my turf” (gives new meaning to the expression “his name is mud”) and the ludicrous “Sports, Sex & Food” which suggests all a woman needs to snare a fella is the ability to cook, have sex, and display a comprehensive knowledge of football - Delia Smith’s got it made.
Only Missy’s “We Don’t Need No Water” contains any spark of innovation though even that’s a poor imitation of Ciara and Lil’ John’s crunk & b sound and it’s shameful that someone like Elliot - the pioneer’s pioneer - should be playing catch-up. It’s equally depressing that, having been given a second chance, Tweet fails to impress again. “Oops” indeed.
