Bachelor

Ginuwines debut album is a good album if you take it for what it is. A typical contemporary R&B album with no instruments, just programmed drums and computer sounds. But luckily it also features a young kid who can sing nice. Timbalands beats are all good, even if he doesn't vary them up enough. It runs nice all the way through, sounding quite dark & futuristic throughout. 'Pony' is still the jam, and he even jocks Prince too.

Overall Ginuwines songs are all nice. He loses marks for lack of substance or real instrumentation, but this is a cool album with a nice fresh flava. The following year in 1997 Usher & Jermaine Dupri kinda stole Ginuwines thunder with 'My Way', and hes never really been able to make it back.

What makes this album special is that it was produced when the Timbaland sound was still fresh, and when it wasn't being imitated yet. The sparse and mysterious beats were a perfect counterpoint to Ginuwine's own slight voice, slight build, and fluid stage presence. Every song on "Ginuwine...The Bachelor" has its place, and I'll go as far to say that there isn't any filler on here. But the standout tracks are: "Pony" (of course), "Tell Me" (2nd single - great ballad in the vein of "So Anxious"), "Only When Ur Lonely" (5th single - dreamy and plush), "I'll Do Anything/I'm Sorry" (4th single - a percussive ballad in the vein of Aaliyah's "Heartbroken" - this is my favorite), and "When Doves Cry" (3rd single - all over MTV in 1997, great remake!).

The songs that I didn't mention are still great, particularly "Hello" and "Lonely Daze," which are both lazy-sounding ballads that sound great late at night just chillin'. "Holler" and "Ginuwine 4 Ur Mind" are decent uptempos that prove that Ginuwine can do both fast and slow jams -- something that male R&B acts had a hard time doing after the New Jack Era ended. Uptempo cuts weren't really happening in male R&B between 1992 and 1996 with the exception of Soul For Real (who brought them back) and before that, maybe "Here We Go" by Portrait. But after Ginuwine kicked down the door, Usher sailed right on in and definitely benefited from Ginuwine's "The Bachelor."

Now it can be argued that Usher attempted to pull a Ginuwine back in 1994 with his first album, and "Think of You" was indeed a fast song -- but it can't be denied that it was *Ginuwine* that originally seemed to be the 2nd coming of Bobby Brown before Usher came along with "You Make Me Wanna." It was on this album that Ginuwine sounds the most confident, the most unstoppable, and perhaps most importantly -- the most mysterious (sorta like Jodeci - especially Devante). I think what made this whole thing work was how unprecedented it was. Timbaland's beats were practically brand new then, and no one was copying yet. Ginuwine's vocal swagger (especially on "Pony") was a perfect match for these beats, and the timing of this album with Aaliyah's 'One In A Million' was like a one-two punch combination in 1996. Not to mention Missy Elliott's songwriting and vocals on cuts like the amazing "I'll Do Anything/I'm Sorry."

To all reading, I hope you can feel my sincere enthusiasm and appreciation for this album. I can really listen to this thing from start to finish and feel rewarded because to me, the music is really good. Timbaland, Missy and Ginuwine (along with Magoo and Playa) were finally getting a chance to get their music heard after being under-utilized protégées of Devante Swing of Jodeci. And you can hear the freshness of their creativity just bursting out of the speakers whenever you put on anything from this camp around this time. And that includes Missy Elliott's debut, the previously mentioned 'One In A Million,' Timbaland & Magoo's 'Welcome To Our World' and even Playa's debut which had some heartfelt composition and singing.

But 'Ginuwine...The Bachelor' represents a revolution in Hip-Hop/Soul. It represents a period in which things were starting to lighten up -- when the fellas were aloud to dance and *perform* again after the demise of New Jack Swing rendered dancing passé. It represents a period in which production styles evolved into a more innovative approach. If Teddy Riley is to be credited for New Jack Swing, Timbaland (who was a protégé of Riley) should be credited for the evolution of Hip-Hop/Soul into a more dance-friendly genre. Oh, and I almost forgot - Ginuwine actually co-wrote 9 of the 13 tracks from this album. Props are due for "Ginuwine...The Bachelor," because this album really changed the game for Hip-Hop/R&B, and formed the blueprint for classic songs like Dru Hill's "In My Bed (remix)" and albums like 'Justified' some six years later...

New Jack Swing 4Ever