Customer Reviews

All True Man

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

People only think of Alexander O'Neal for his first two albums, the self titled debut & the big selling "Hearsay".
Alex came back in 1991 with "All True Man" - his last great album in my opinion.
The album went to number one in its first week in the uk, but failed to have the staying power that his previous 2 did.
The trouble with this album was the timing. In a time where rap & new jack swing were coming to the forefront of black music "All True Man" failed to go with that.

But this album is truly magnificant. "Time Is Running Out" is a storming track which is fresh & funky. "The Yoke" is equally funky, and although a lengthy track, you won't be able to stop yourself dancing to the beat.
"Everytime I get up" is some of the best work Alex has done in his long career. It a song which if released I'm sure would have been a big his. A truly great song.
The album does have its dour moments and these are tracks 4 & 5 - "Somebody changed your mind" & "Midnight run"
But from then on the rest of the set is just breathtaking.
"Used" is produced by Jellybean Johnson whom alex worked with on his biggest hit "Criticize". Heavy guitar riff's with alex's sweet soulful voice just equal perfection.
"Sentimental" is a tad slushy - but its the voice that alex posesses that really chills the soul.
"What Is this Thing Called love" is a throwback to great tracks from Hearsay, such as "What Can I say". Should have been a bigger hit.
The title track "All True Man" still remains a big inclusion in Mr O'Neal's live show. I've been to see him about 7 or 8 times, and this one is always included. Being only 19, Alex & has music I have always loved - this album is no exception.
"Hang On" & "The Morning After" are two sweet soul track. You can feel the sex in "The Morning After" - its appeal is wide.
"Shame" is the final track and maybe the best on here. An acoustic feel with some touching lyrics mixed with Alex's gritty soul voice.

I urge you to buy the most underrated soul album of any time - ever.

Superb

I actually like this album better than (the better known) "Hearsay". Weirdly enough the faster songs at the beginning are just filler and in contrast, the slow songs at the end are absolutely killer, priceless material.

In particular the run from track 7 ('All True Man") to track 12 at the end "Shame") is damn near ecstasy. The oncomparable production team of Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis and Alex push each other to supreme heights. Jam/Lewis provide the musical contexts and Alex finds peerless heights of subtlety in his singing. My God: so many "hairs rising on the back of the your moments" here!

If you think soul singing is about belting and yelling, this portion of the album will come as a earning experience. It is a nothing short of a singing masterclass, wringing maximum impact while maintaining supreme control. The wannabe R&B singers and Christina Aguileras of the world should be given this album as mandatory homework to study and learn from!

At the end, Jimmy Jam provides some absolutely sick bass for an increasingly slow that he and Alex use to close out the album incredibly.

Superb handwork on this album. Simply superb. When it ends you feel like you were at a concert and you don't want to go home! Luckily modern technology gives us "repeat" and "A-B repeat", so instead of clapping for an encore, you can just make the CD keep crooning to you over and over:
"do it again, its a shame on me
shame, shame,
shame, shame,
shame, shame, shame, shhhaaaaame,
do it again, its a shame on me.......

Vastly underrated here in the US but well worth it's weight in gold ! I've owned this copy on all 3 formats (vinyl,cassette,cd)...As a vinyl junkie, the tracks sound more natural and warm (not as digitized as on cd---another debate for another time). If anything, All True Man served as the apex or zenith for his other 2 previous albums...Listening to all 3 of them; they are like the O'Neal, Jam & Lewis production trilogy!Classic clean R&B funk and soul from 91...Maybe it is a late entry and did not succumb to the popular sounds of jack swing and other sub-genres of the early 90's. I would rather have this R&B type of music than anything else that did NOT age well ! Out of the first three O'Neal projects this is his polished one---minus the blockbuster hits contained on Hearsay...still good stuff. VERY good stuff !

During the 80's the "Minneapolis Sound" was all over the place. Prince, The Time, Cherelle, and Alexander O'Neal had hit after hit. Behind many of the tunes made by the latter two was the creative team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, members of The Time, themselves. Jam and Lewis had scored big with Janet Jackson's "Control" LP, as well as having produced hits for Herb Alpert, Human League, and The SOS Band.

Working with O'Neal on his earlier hit LP "Hearsay", the pair served as excutive producers on "All True Man". "Hearsay" benefited from a consistency of purpose as each song made perfect lyrical and thematic segues from one track to the next.

"All True Man", while easy to listen to, suffers from being about "half empty". The first six cuts seem to be "B" side material.

The album comes alive with the title cut at number seven and the strongest tracks to follow: "Sentimental", "What is This Thing Called Love?" and the two-shot knockouts "The Morning After" and "Hang On". The final track, "Shame" is an appropriate finale.

If the songwriting/producing team had made this one an "EP" containing only the final six, then one of the early 90's most outstanding R & B albums would've been created.

I'M a big fan of MR ALEXANDER O'NEAL'S music. I love his strong, vigorus and forceful vocals..perfect for those pulsing beats. Also at times can also be a tad pleading.
You can easily feel the masquline energy radiating from this man on this stunning yet underrated album. "ALL TRUE MAN" is in the same league as his debut album "ALEXANDER O'NEAL" and the runner-up "HEARSAY".
Weighing in at 12 songs total, the set is nothing short of maddening funk like.."TIME IS RUNNING OUT", "THE YOKE", and "EVERY TIME I GET UP", these cuts are superb..designed to get you dancin' with a strong message to boost!!. "SOMEBODY(CHANGED YOUR MIND)" "MIDNIGHT RUN" and "USED" are basically in the groove but not as hot... Robust ballards like "ALL TRUE MAN", "SENTIMENTAL" and "WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED LOVE" are simply magnificient!!!. My most loved song here is the sexually laced "THE MORNING AFTER", my gosh..you can literally feel the raw sex and primal lustforce pulsing from this cut!!. Another favourite is the gloomy "HANG ON", this one really hits home as well!!. The set finishes off with the threatening "SHAME", that lady better take heed!!!.
Trust me, if you a fan of MR O'NEAL'S music, you need to add this excellent album to your collection. Highly recomended. This album is great..very very great!!!.

Supported by sonically-conscious producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Alexander O'Neal tried to use his third solo effort to burst into the 1990s. It definitely sounds like an explosion--in fact, it sounds like he jumped ahead two decades to craft his tunes rather than four years. But his songs themselves and the messages contained therein haven't changed a bit. While he's gained a smooth, hip, bopping new sound, it feels like the machinery--and quite a bit of machinery was used to create this record--has eroded the soul that made his first two records so damn good. There are certainly truths here, but instead of bold, new truth, these are recycled truths, the same he presented on his other work. It says everything that "Used," which is nothing but a nasty version of "Criticize," right down to the lyrics and chord changes, is the most attractive song on the album. The truth of the matter is that, like O'Neal's first two records, it sounds better and better with repeated listens, but it lacks the sheer macho soul of his past efforts. Only one song really stopped me in my tracks: "Shame," which ends the album on a shockingly bold and grim note.

GREAT CD A MUST HAVE .....ONE OF THE FEW GREAT MALE SINGERS WHO HASNT EVER LET US DOWN......

The demand for passionate, deep-throated singers like Alexander O'Neal was not at its greatest peak in 1991, and while it's a good album, his best days were behind him by this time. However, one song from this album, the burning bedroom ballad "The Morning After," is definitely worth the price of the album, as it does not appear on any of his hits collections or on any compilations. It certainly should have.

my opinion is that its one of the greatest album to come out to this day ,and he dont even get reconizized for it . i,m talking about off the the chain.