Doubleback: Evolution of R&B

R&B伝道師、ジョーの通算10作目となるオリジナル・アルバム。かつてのR&Bが持っていた品格を取り戻すと語り、クラシカルなR&Bアプローチを試みつつもR&Bの進化を図ろうという、R&B伝道師ならではの意欲溢れる力作に仕上がっている。こちらはボーナス・トラックを収録したBEST BUY限定盤。

Joe's tenth proper studio album arrived a month short of the 20-year anniversary of the release of his debut. On a new label but still with Kedar Massenburg, Joe has reached a major milestone that is all the more impressive considering the changes his genre has gone through since 1993 -- from the fade of new jack swing to an era when core artists collaborated with European and Scandinavian dance-pop producers for a shot at cracking the R&B-resistant Hot 100. On Doubleback, Joe does work with Norwegian hitmakers Stargate, but it's one of the crew's slicker R&B tracks. Joe and Derek "DOA" Allen (Bobby Brown, Lionel Richie, Karyn White) divvy up most of the production work. The result is a little less salacious than 2009's Signature and 2011's The Good, the Bad, the Sexy, with classier elements that reach a Philly soul-evoking peak on "Love & Sex," a duet with Fantasia. That said, it's still obvious that Joe is a product of the new jack era. There's no mistaking that he's not referring to a writing instrument when he sings of his Bic. Despite nearing 40, he still has a player's mentality: "Sometimes I think I'm a son of King Solomon, but two beautiful girls is a problem." The grown-man macking goes down easier when it's applied to relaxed grooves -- as heard on "Something for You," "Easy," "Mary Jane" -- that owe much to smooth soul of the late '70s and early '80s. Those three songs help make Doubleback one of Joe's finer 2000s/2010s releases. ~ Andy Kellman

メジャーを離れ、恩師キダー・マッセンバーグのもとで表題通りの彼らしさを聴かせた前々作『Signature』、外部制作陣に多くを委ねながらも不動のロマンティック世界を展開した前作『The Good, The Bad, The Sexy』に続くこの記念すべき10作目は、それら2作の美点を踏襲しつつ、〈ソウル回帰〉もテーマにした意欲作だ。なかでも、サザン・ソウル調の先行曲"I'd Rather Have A Love"や、ファンテイジアを迎えたスウィート・ソウル・デュエット"Love & Sex"を歌い込む様は、いにしえのレジェンドたちへの敬意を表すかのよう。〈取り戻す〉と〈R&Bの進化〉という言葉を並列させた本作の表題と内容は、ソウルフルでオーセンティックなR&Bが稀有なものになった現状に対するジョーなりの意思表示なのだろう。
bounce (C)池谷昌之