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52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Anthony Hamilton definitely has the "Southern Stuff" that music listeners like, January 5, 2006
Every now and then an artist comes out of nowhere to impress you with a music release that is far beyond expectations. Anthony Hamilton's "Comin' From Where I'm From" was definitely an example of this. Before hearing the CD, the only time that I had heard Anthony Hamilton was when he was singing hooks for Nappy Roots, Xzibit, etc. The only r&b track that I had heard him on was a song that was on Sunshine Anderson's CD entitled "Last Night". That track also featured Dolo Pichino. When I first heard the title track, "Comin From Where I'm From", I was impressed because after only hearing Anthony Hamilton on rap hooks, I didn't know that a solo song from him would sound so good. Once the CD was released I was hooked. While most people heard the title track and "Charlene" since those were the songs that were released, the best material ended up being other tracks on the CD such as "Mama Knew Love" where Jermaine Dupri took the beat that Jay Z used for "Blueprint(Momma Loves Me)" and Anthony Hamilton definitely took care of the rest with the vocals, "Since I Seen't You", which is still my favorite song from the CD, where Anthony crafts the perfect midtempo song with help from Mark Batson and Maya Jones and "Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens" where Anthony takes a nice feel good uptempo track and blends everything with the rest of the CD.
Earlier this year, Rhino released a CD of earlier material from Anthony Hamilton entitled "Soullife". However, this CD isn't actually Anthony Hamilton's second CD. Don't let this fool you though, because there is some nice material on this CD. My favorite track by far is "I Used To Love Someone".
Anthony Hamilton's second CD is entitled "Ain't Nobody Worryin'". Although, this CD was just released on December 13th, I can tell you already that this disc is a certified classic. "Ain't Nobody Worryin'" is a CD that will be in rotation for years to come. It's released in December 2005, but the material definitely has an old school r&b feel to it. The 1st single, "Can't Let Go" is a clear indication of what you should expect on the CD. What I don't understand though is that for some reason there are some people that aren't really feelin' this track. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you can get any better than this when it comes to r&b music with an old school soul sound to it. "Can't Let Go" is classic Anthony Hamilton as he understands that in a relationship there are going to be ups and downs, but the ultimate reality is that since I care about you so much, that no matter what happens we are going to be together and I "Can't Let Go". The CD starts off differently though as Anthony tries to backtrack and wonder "Where Did It Go Wrong?" Throughout the track he tries to go through all the details to figure out where things started to go bad in his past. What he is trying to understand is why he still wants to be with someone that has put him through things and if he can still depend on this person in the future. "Southern Stuff" ends up being a nice feel good jam just like "Cornbread, Fish & Collard Greens" was on "Comin' From Where I'm From". However, the southern "stuff" that Anthony is referring to can be translated to mean many things. The title track is a nice track because Anthony takes a break from the old school r&b to remind people that through everything that there are still basic everyday problems that are still going on in the world that we can't afford to continue to ignore. In essence, he is saying that the majority of the world is just worrying about what's going on in their lives intead of having a broader scope about what's going on in the world and in surroundings other than their own. Raphael Saadiq produces a nice track for Anthony Hamilton to talk about what's going on in the world today. Vidal & Dre produce a nice midtempo jam in "The Truth" where Anthony tells the woman that he is involved to just trust in him and what they are trying to build instead of concentrating on past events. "Preacher's Daughter" sounds like a 70s track that may have been on the Superfly soundtrack as Anthony is quick to remind us that you can't judge a book by its cover. Just because someone may appear to be something, in the end they can be just as bad as anyone else. In this case, it just happens to be the preacher's daughter. "Pass Me Over" definitely has a gospel feel to it. I hate to compare anything that Anthony Hamilton does to Mariah Carey but just as Mariah did with "Fly Like A Bird", Anthony Hamilton shows that he can be versatile with his music and have a gospel feel to his music as well. This may be a prelude to an Anthony Hamilton gospel CD, who knows. After hearing alot of old school soul, "Everybody" may throw alot of people off. All of a sudden, Anthony breaks into a reggae groove after what is basically a gospel song. I admire Anthony's versatility so I don't have a problem with this track but some people will. After producing "Ain't Nobody Worryin"'s first three tracks, Mark Batson shows up again with "Sista Big Bones". Now this track is pretty good and I can feel the subject material because he is basically saying that he can deal with "thick" women just like he can deal with any other type of woman, but compared to the rest of the tracks on this CD, "Sista Big Bones" just doesn't live up to the rest of the classics on this CD, in my opinion.
However, in one track that changes drastically as James Poyser and Questlove from The Roots help Anthony Hamilton create another masterpiece in "Change Your World". When r&b music was created to make love songs, this song would definitely classify to be a blueprint for that. If you like slow jams that talk about love this song will turn out to be one of your favorites in the year 2006 and for years to come. This song is my favorite track from the CD so far. Kevin Wooten, who produced "Pass Me Over" helps Anthony create another great slow jam in "Never Love Again". Unlike "Where Did It Go Wrong", where Anthony still wants to make a gallant effort to make things work, this track analyzes all the bad things that happened in this particular relationship and why he would never want to fall in love again. Any man will be able to relate to this track. Kevin Wooten shows up again to end things with "I Know What Love's All About". As one reviewer said, this track really has an Al Green feel to it. Anthony talks about the trials and tribulations in a relationsip which means in essence, he knows what love is really about.
If anyone thought that Anthony Hamilton would suffer from the sophomore jinx, they will be sadly mistakened. This CD will end up being a classic in the long run. If anyone has any doubts about Anthony Hamilton's 2nd disc, I'm hear to erase those doubts right now. If you enjoyed "Comin' From Where I'm From" and "Soullife", you will DEFINITELY enjoy "Ain't Nobody Worryin'". You can not afford to pass up on this CD.
Trust me on that one.
James' Top 5
1) Change Your World
2) Never Love Again
3) Can't Let Go
4) Southern Stuff
5) Ain't Nobody Worryin'
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceptional follow up to COMIN' FROM WHERE I'M FROM, December 13, 2005
With the release of his follow-up to the phenomenal COMIN' FROM WHERE I'M FROM, Hamilton releases the consistent AIN'T NOBODY WORRYIN'. It is hard to make an album that is just as good as your first release, yet Hamilton does it here with flying colors presenting a soulful journey that no true R&B fan can miss. In fact, Hamilton has made easily one of 2005's best and most credible R&B albums without having to conform to the contemporary R&B standards of today. With this soulful masterpiece, Hamilton evokes what everyone loves about soul including the soulful drum grooves and the raw emotion of the lyrics. Through Anthony Hamilton, you can hear the influences of greats like Bill Withers and Teddy Pendergrass, just to mention a few.
Production is among the best that I've heard in any R&B album in 2005. Throughout the album, Hamilton keeps the soulful formula with wailing earthy organs, soulful sharp guitars, warm electric keyboards, Al Green reminiscent horns and horn synths, and acoustic piano. While it would not be fair to call Hamilton a hip-hop artist, the drum programming that hinges the arrangement is both soulful enough for the older fans and hip-hop enough for young followers of Hamilton who embrace the sanctity of Hamilton's music. Furthermore, besides the brilliant production work, there is no filler material whatsoever on this album; everything is just as good as everything else (relatively speaking of course) just as Hamilton's Grammy nominated COMIN' FROM WHERE I'M FROM was. With that said, my favorites from this spectacular album are: "Where Did It Go Wrong", "Southern Stuff", "Can't Let Go" (which is a 5/5 for me), "Ain't Nobody Worryin'", "Change Your World", "Never Love Again", and "I Know What Love's About". While I love those tracks, I think that EVERY track on this album is well deserving of accolades. With that said, GRAMMY 2007, watch out!!!
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Anthony Hamilton CD!, December 14, 2005
"Ain't Nobody Worrying" is Anthony Hamilton's true followup to his major label debut "Coming From Where I'm From." Earlier this year an album named "Soullife" was released. This CD was a CD Anthony recorded years ago that Rhino released this year.
If you heard the first single "Can't Let Go," and weren't quite sure about it, pick up the album. The album is hot like fire and I kind of question that first single choice. It's a great song but others are better. The title track "Ain't Nobody Worryin'," is a very soulful song that will remind listeners of Anthony's song "Coming From Where I'm From." Another really great song on this album is "Southern Stuff." "Preacher's Daughter" is a stirring song kind of about how the preacher is so busy ministering to the world that he doesn't pay attention to the daughter right there with him. Anthony has such a rich soulful voice and fans may not know that he suffered with a bout of bruised vocal chords earlier this year and thankfully he has recovered and his voice sounds better than ever. The song "Sista Big Bones" is an instant classic and immediately invoked old school Stevie Wonder memories in my heart. "The Truth" is a really great song too. There is no artist out there right now that is even coming close to the kind of soul music Anthony Hamilton is making. It's a great album, every song. Don't miss out on this one.
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