Product Description

R. Kelly starts this disc off with a straight-up gospel sermon, and his vocal style is well-suited to it. He learned his craft in church, and he gives praise to God on the disc's liner notes. Of course, the second song is called "Hump Bounce", so that also tells you where this popular, strong-voiced soul singer is coming from.
Kelly sings about differentaspects of love, sex, and relationships, with a style that owes much to those who came before him--Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and a host of others who refined and perfected theart of expression through vocalisation. His formula is simple: take a slow or mid-tempo modern R&B structure, add a healthy dose of gospel-inflected vocal runs, up and and down the scale, and Presto!--another hit.
Kelly's material is almost all of the slow-groove style. This is music to make outto, plain and simple, and Kelly is good at what he does. On"Not Gonna Hold On", Kelly and producer Barry Hankerson create a truly hypnotic jam, one that gives the singer room to flex his impressive vocal chops. The arrangement is spare, with just a steady drum tap, and a synthesized keyboard flowing like rainwater behind the background vocal track. Kelly knows how to create a mood, and he does it over and over again.

Track Listing

1. Intro
2. Hump Bounce
3. Not Gonna Hold On
4. You Remind Me Of Something
5. Step In My Room
6. Baby Baby Baby Baby Baby
7. Be Happy To You Be - Kelly, R. & Notorious BIG
8. Down Low (Nobody Has To Know) - Kelly, R. & Ronald Isley
9. I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)
10. Thank God It's Friday
11. Love Is On The Way
12. Heaven If You Hear Me
13. Religious Love
14. Tempo Slow
15. As I Look Into My Life
16. Trade In My Life

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19696 in Music
• Released on: 2001-05-07
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
A double disc may seem indulgent after barely a decade in the biz, but after meandering through the commercial minefields of innocent fun (1992's Born into the '90s), pure raunch (1993's 12 Play), and pop crossover (1995's R. Kelly), Kelly has come close to the perfect mix--and if it takes two discs to do so, why not? There are still moments of indulgence (the forced theatrics of "The Opera"), and the occasional venture into mediocrity ("Did You Ever Think?"), but the sheer funk of tracks like "Home Alone" (a head-bobber featuring Keith Murray) and "Dollar Bill" (featuring--surprise!--Foxy Brown) allows you to overlook such cracks in the formula. Other bit players in this star vehicle include Cam'Ron, Noreaga, Jay-Z, Nas, and (yes) Celine Dion. --Rebecca Wallwork

Customer Reviews

A great album from Kelly but not necessarily the best**
I have this cd in my collection its one of those chilled out albums.For me "Religious Love" is the one track ,,very sexy indeed..great lyrics..top vocabs..really gets me in the mood.Saying that its not the only good track "down low" is one good song.damn now ive written this im going to have to whack it on the stereo!No on a more serious note this album is special go get it**Sarah.C

A true classic.....
People, if you love RnB, then you'll love this.
Anyone who's heard R.Kelly before will know what to expect.
Every track is a true classic and worthy of the price alone.
Don't think this is the same as all the other RnB artists.
Original and moving, two words that define this album.
Put down the rest of your collection and pick this up.
Hit after hit, the man is a genius.
If you listen to this album you'll know what RnB is all about.
Listen to it from start to finish on a long drive, enjoy.
Excellent!

Classic Kelly
This is my absolute favourite of R. Kelly's releases. It's more hiphop tinged than some of his later work (no Celine Dion duets here) but not as lewd or explicit as 12 Play and more recently TP2.com.

Although guest slots on R'n'B albums are a penny a dozen now cameos by the Isley Brothers and The Notorious B.I.G. are truly memorable. I'm the biggest Mary J. Blige fan and (You To Be)Be Happy featuring Biggie reminds me of a track from her My Life album. It's my favourite cut from the album and Biggie just rips it.

The whole vibe throughout the album is really mellow but the finale is the rousing gospel number Trade In My Life. It'll make you feel like your in church again, only a really trendy one where fit men with big biceps sing the leads.

If you only buy one album by R.Kelly make this it.