Nice Work, Carl - "let's talk about " this one...
DJ Kole | 01/16/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's always tough for an artist to follow a high quality, top selling classic release like "Emotional," Carl Thomas's debut album. "Let's Talk About It" does a pretty damn good job of accomplishing such a feat. There are quite a few exceptional tracks on this album, including "My First Love," "Make It Alright" and "Let Me Know" which all demonstrate Carl's ability to add emotion to every song he sings on. "She Is" feat. LL Cool J didn't need to be put on the album or released as a single. The sample on the track has been used so many times by rappers and R&B artists and it was not a unique song. "P. Diddy" and others' production didn't make the album as a whole sound as "old" as Emotional which will draw some of Carl's fans from the first album away. However, there are quite a few tracks that are definately "classic" like "The Baby Maker" and "All You've Given." Carl could have held out more notes and "broke out" more to show his true vocal range on more songs. He did do it on enough songs to make this release "good quality." I am in the middle on the "poetry/rapping" he used on his first album as well as this one. It is probably not needed but it is "artistic." Carl, keep up the good work, just don't let the A&Rs, Producers and Executives around you change your musical direction. Keep recording quality music that can last for years to come."
Kind of a disappointment
T. Winston | 04/05/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I don't own Carl's debut album, so I really don't know what it was like. After hearing such hits as "Summer Rain", "Emotional" and "Wish I Never Met Her" I expected much more from this album. I have heard Carl Thomas sing live and he can really sing. This CD didn't seem to showcase his vocals well and his voice sounded kind of weak on some songs. After listening through the CD it was only six songs I thought were good:
My First Love - very pretty song
The Baby Maker - very soulful, reminds me of the 70s, CT did a good job singing
Dreamer - this song was off the hook, loved the overall sound to it, very unique
A Promise - this one was nice, it kind of has that gospel feel to it
But Me - I really liked the tempo on this song
Work It Out - now this song I believe was the best, the beat is off the hook
The other songs were either annoying or boring. In the beginning of the CD he has this poetic reading interlude going on. It was not good. Especially when Carl joined in, that is when it got annoying. I couldn't wait for it to be over. The CD really doesn't get any better until the third track. I had to skip over some songs after that to get to some worth listening. Towards the end of the CD it gets very boring. I can tell at least three of the last songs were fillers because of the lack of effort put into them. "All You're Given", "Let Me Know", and "Rebound" sounded so bland and dull. I tried to force myself to listen to them but I just couldn't because they are so boring.
Overall if you're a fan of Carl Thomas I guess it's worth a listen. I really don't recommend that you buy this because it wasn't great. Some of the songs I believe they could have done without. Like "Anything and "Make it Alright", very boring songs. "She Is" featuring LL Cool J has a nice beat but after a while I began to get sick of it. I only play this CD when I want to hear those six songs I like. This CD was a let down and I felt Carl Thomas didn't show or put enough effort into it.
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