Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 09/07/07
Label: Interscope

Whatever else Robin Thicke is, he certainly isn't 'the next Justin Timberlake'. Nor is he 'going to change music', as was claimed by his current mentor and benefactor Pharrell Williams. That said, on both counts, he comes very close. The second album from the successful R&B writer-for-hire, is stylish, sophisticated and impeccably tailored, and while those aren't qualities likely to secure him a future as a household name, they go a long way to making "The Evolution Of Robin Thicke" an album, whatever its shortcomings, that deserves to be savoured.

Thicke probably isn't expecting instant fame from "The Evolution…" anyway, having been this way before with his 2003 debut, "A Beautiful World". A well received album that no one bought, it no doubt left him wise to fame's questionable tastes. Meanwhile, his day job allowed him to live out his more pop ambitions, writing for Usher, Michael Jackson and Christina Aguilera to name but a few. So, all things considered, it's hardly surprising that "The Evolution…" offers more subtlety and integrity than mega hits. Or that it plays like it was written more for personal pleasure than commercial gain.

Softly spoken nu-soul, lazy summer struts, hushed seduction and languid lullabies, it's an R&B love story told through a heat haze of sexy shimmies and Riviera sways. Sung with a falsetto which begs for the Timberlake comparisons, to a steady supply of low-slung grooves which belong on a D'Angelo album, from beginning to end it's a record which never raises above a gentle murmur. And that is its genius.

The frustration of "Complicated"'s longing, is all the more pointed for its mid-tempo finger clicking. The Latin guitars, twilight sunshine and minor key all colour the unrequited love of "Would That Make U Love Me" and single "Lost Without U"'s neediness, with a certain tragic beauty. Meanwhile, the general, unhurried tenderness ensures that when Thicke does edge towards breaking into a sweat, for the deeper grind of "Ask Myself" and full-on bossanova of "Everything I Can't Have", they bristle with genuine sexual tension.

Labours of love, which in every sense this is, can be double-edged swords though. While blessed with courage, conviction and the best of intentions, they can also be indulgent, and "The Evolution…" is no exception. The very subtly which makes it exceptional, over the long haul - and at 17 tracks it is long - turns a record of quiet brilliance into a quietly underwhelming blur. It's the only hurdle Robin Thicke falters at though, and with careful pruning, there's a 10 song masterpiece just waiting to be discovered. Praise the lord for iTunes.

    by Dan Gennoe