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5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as you'd expect him to be, and more!, Feb 12 2009
Like many others, I had seen Wayne Brady on Whose Line, and loved him. We all knew he could sing, but a lot of us might not've known that he actually had a CD out. I wasn't sure what to expect, but boy, was I surprised!
The album starts off with a cover of a song called "Ordinary". I've been told that his covers aren't quite as soulful as the old versions, but I find them just fine (or better in some cases, but that's just my preference. I like my structure). "Ordinary" serves as a fine album opening, and it shows promise for the album.
"F.W.B." stands for Friends with Benefits, and it is a bit racy, but about as racy as his album gets. It's still a great song with a catchy beat to it, and his tempting side shows off well. "Can't By Me Love" is another slower paced song. A little too slow for my liking, but it has a nice arrangement, and is quite soothing, if you're in the mood for that.
The album starts to shift to a happier beat with 'Back In The Day", a fun romp with references to some old things that we all knew 'back in the day'. "Sweetest Berry" is a slow a again, but its a more tender love song that still keeps your spirits up, and its a nice side to see from him as well.
"A Change is Gonna Come" is an old classic (for me anyways), and he does his best to keep it so. His voice sounds quite different, and for this song, it fits very well. Its an amazing cover, but sadly, its been cut to a mere 3:10. The beauty of it is more than enough to make up for it, though, but you still can't help wishing. "I Ain't Moving" keeps up this finger snapping section of the album, and is my favourite track off of the album. it's just so catchy, and while I thought the bridge was a bit cheesy at first, it grew on me a lot.
The album now drops its tone, and stays there. "Make Heaven Wait" is a wonderful ballad about a death. It is a bit of a formulaic song, but touching all the same. "All Naturally" has a good beat, and he delivers the lines well and convincingly as he sings about a natural beauty, and he delivers some fun lines such as 'you don't have to get your hair did/And I still wanna run my fingers all through it.' "All I Do" is another good song, a bit more upbeat, but not by much.
"Beautiful Ugly" is a song about being beautiful on the outside, but ugly on the inside. I don't care much for the chorus, but the rest of the arrangement seems fine, and he does a good job nonetheless. For me, it was the weakest track of the album (and that's pretty good).
"You and Me" is a very touching song about his divorce, and I must say, the first time I heard it, I wanted to cry, and I can't even really relate to it. It has a beautiful arrangement and lyrics that really hit you. It serves as a great closing to the album, being sad, but very the is closure, and you're left with a good feeling.
In the end, I was quite blown away by the album. There's more than enough beat to the album to bounce, and its very reminiscent of old styles. Then there are those few tracks that you just hold close to your heart, which altogether make it a solid album indeed.
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