Customer Reviews

Love Ambition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Who's my favorite male singer?? It ain't Usher. It ain't Marques. It ain't Ray J. It ain't Justin Tim or R. Kelly. It's Jason Weaver. You cannot mistake his voice for anybody else's. When I heard Chingy's "One Call Away" for the first time, I knew his voice right off the bat. I had to do a double take just to make sure I was right and I was. Anyway, Jason's own classic productions started here with this album -- Love Ambition. He did a phenomenal job doing a version of the Al Green classic "For The Love Of You" on this album and all of the rest of the tracks speak for themselves. What's not to like about his voice??

This my second time purchasing this cd. The first time was in 1995, shortly after it's release. I remember being 15 and loving the smooth, relaxing, grown-up beats and lyrics over the one of the sweetest voices in the business at the time. Jason is still great, as was exhibited on Chingy's "One Call Away". This cd is the introduction of that voice. Filled with ballads and mellow cuts, this album signified Jason's arrival. Not typical of a lot of the teenie bopping candy coated artists of the time, these tracks suggest a young gentleman in the making. If you like JW a little bit, you'll love this cd...a lot.

Back in the day, when BET was a decent TV outlet, I remember seeing the video's for 'Love Ambition' & 'I Can't Stand The Pain' (both of which, I believe were produced by the very under rated Keith Crouch) which drew my attention to a young artist from Chicago. On the strength of these two songs I purchased the CD, which whilst not a 5 star banger in my eyes, was a good solid debut, which showed promise of what was, possibility to come, given decent label support.For one so young, he had gained national attention portraying a young Michael Jackson in the ABC ( I think) tele series entitled 'The Jackson's', and as the voice of Simba in the Lion King Disney movie. Apart from the two fore-mentioned songs, this CD has a half way decent cover of the Isley's Brother hit ' For the Love of You' and a new jack sounding ( and produced by his Motown label mate at the time R Swinger) Pretty Brown. I think I gave my copy to my little Sister, but having seen the videos again on Youtube, I know I have to get this again. Another artist that, with decent producers and songs, always delivers.

During my Immature fanatical childhood, I was also smitten with Jason Weaver. I met him in person at the Taste of Chicago, and he was such a friendly and funny guy. Great first impressions plus a beautiful singing voice always work well together, and this CD was just that. I had his tape for years, but last month, I bought the CD version since the downloads aren't available. A CD has to be REALLY good to get me to go that far to get an updated version for an artist who has been out of the music scene, minus his stellar acting in "Drumline," "ATL," and the Jackson Five movie when he was younger. There aren't too many singers that can be on the same level with the Isley Brothers by remaking "For the Love of You." "I Can't Stand the Pain" is my favorite track, but I still like all the others, such as "Love Ambition." All in all, this album is impressive years later.

I was the biggest Jason Weaver fan as a young teen, and it's no accident he's still hovering around the industry. His voice is so smooth and melodic, soothing your soul with powerful ballads instead of forcing sex on you. The first time I saw Love Ambition's video, I sat open mouthed, wondering who the hell he was. I was so glad to see it, because it wasn't in rotation heavily. I immediatly went to cop the CD, and wasn't dissappointed in the least. Jason Weaver made my 8th and 9th grade years very special, and I hope he comes with more fire in the very near future. I haven't forgotten about him, and you won't either after you get this great piece of work.

I loved this CD. When it came in the mail I opened it up right when I got it and played it.

...he has the charisma to pull it off as witnessed by his various television appearances before The Lion King and since. I know they went with big names for the casting and Johnathan Taylor Thomas was "hot" at the time and did a very good job with the voice. So I digress.

Jason Weaver handles this cd with a finesse and presentation beyond his years. If he didn't allude to his age a few times, one could almost forget he was not an adult when he recorded this. Not because he particularly SOUNDS grown, he just sings the songs with such passion and ease that you start to believe he knows what he's talking about. That's not easy to do considering the somewhat mature material, nothing vulgar but not what you'd expect to hear from a 15 year old, yet it's handled with taste. I'm sure being the son of singer/performer Kitty Haywood helped with that.

Great song selection. There is a definite MJ influence here which would be unavoidable coming off of "The Jacksons: An American Dream" and being under the wing of Motown, but it is not overkill. In fact it is slight but effective. Interestingly enough, it is most prevalent on "Ordinary Guy," one of the 2 songs The boys wrote, produced and lent their voices to. Not surprising knowing their connections to MJ. It's more vocal style than actual content though, Jason has his own style and incorporates other influences throughout. The songs have that classic 90s r&b feel. Stylistically it's slightly jazzy, sometimes smooth, other times modern (for the times) and a little rough but always to the point. Well written songs, superb background vocals, and top notch production makes it all come together nicely. The music creates a soothing, at times fun, almost therapeutic ambience.

My only compalint is that it could have been longer. It's even more bothersome knowing he never released another FULL album. I think Motown could have handled his career better but that is a discussion for another time and I'm not really trying to point fingers, I understand times change. With the talent Jason Weaver possesses (especially at such a tender age), it's a shame his career didn't blossom enough to match his talent. Still (and made all the more important by his absence from music over the years) this album is a must have. I would definitely recommend it.

All of the songs are fine tunes worthy of praise, but I'll mention a few:

LOVE AMBITION - a new classic jam, his most popular song

FOR THE LOVE OF YOU - Great take on the Isley classic

SO IN LOVE - Laidback groove

MY LOVE - Another smooth ballad, the other song "The Boys" lent their talent to.

I CAN'T STAND THE PAIN - With background vocals from Rahsaan Patterson how could I not mention just one more? Rahsaan ups the ante and Jason knocks it out of the park. His vocals are dead on and they complement each other well. Interestingly enough, Rahsaan also sings background on Love Ambition. Jason kills the vocals on that song. Keith Crouch produced, wrote and sang background on both songs (they were both singles), though he let R.P. shine on ICSTP.

I remember seeing the CD single for "Love Ambition" in Sam Goody in 1995. I had never heard of him. I read on the back that it was written by Keith Crouch (who did Brandy's first album which I LUV), so I bought it. I instantly fell in love with it! Then, when his whole CD came out, I copped it! I especially enjoy "I Can't Stand The Pain," "Luv Ambition," the Isley's remake of "For The Love Of You," and "So In Love." I will admit, it does have some dull album fillers, but overall, I was really impressed. Then to make matters better, I got the chance to meet him at the Missouri Black Expo that year. I believe his mother was with him. He was very nice and he signed my CD cover. I'm sad that he wasn't around as a solo artist for long because he was bringing R&B back! I think this is a worthwhile addition to any real collection!!!

I bought this CD for only one song. "Love Ambition" is a really nice stepper cut. If you like that style of music you need this song in your library.

Jason Weaver is great. I wish he would come back to music and do another, but I know he's also a great actor. I'm still looking for the remix of "Can't Stand The Pain" that I heard on the radio.