Priceless

Frankie J.

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 17, 2006)
• Original Release Date: October 17, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000ICLTFU
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #114,393 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. That Girl Fresh

2. Priceless

3. Never Let You Down

4. Daddy's Little Girl

5. If He Can't Be

6. Say Something

7. Hurry Up

8. Is This What You Call Love?

9. Top Of The Line

10. Dance

11. Still

12. I Ain't Trippin'

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Priceless is a pretty ambitious name for a CD, but Frankie J's second English-language disc does play like something that ought to be brought to shoppers' attention by way of a loudspeaker and a gleaming blue strobe light. As of opening track "That Girl," the man who launched a thousand comparisons to Usher comes out swinging and bobbing to a Chamillionaire- and Mannie Fresh-enhanced beat: "shake-it-shake-it-shake-it-shake-it-shake-it," Chamillionaire commands when he's not fueling Frankie's obsession for a girl with a "face like a supermodel/body built just like a Coke bottle." Forty-five minutes of pure R&B flow, some of it laid atop a hopped-up dance vibe, follow: "Never Let You Down," featuring Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, could be part of a producer's PowerPoint presentation on the expert scuffing of a pretty ballad; "If He Can't Be" conjures the spiky-haired spirit of Billy Idol (or at least his inescapable hit "Eyes Without a Face") for a sneaky seduction; "Hurry Up" hustles out of the speakers with thump-hearted urgency; and the midtempo "I Ain't Trippin'" coasts on glass-clear vocals--"Even though you've got a man, even though I've got a girl/I like the way it's going down," sings Sir J in a Timberlake-reminiscent falsetto. Latin, R&B, dance, and hip-hop fans will like what's going down here, too--if Priceless proves anything, it's that Frankie's bent on freeing himself not only from comparisons with other sexy crooners but from genre conventions as well. The former Kumbia King has entered an exploratory phase, and it's serving him well--if he keeps it up, don't count on seeing his discs in the sale rack anytime soon. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Best English Album - 3.5 Stars!, October 19, 2006

By	CrazyWhacko_88 "Music Addict" (Not Telling You :P) - See all my reviews

I don't know why, but when I hear about an upcoming album from Frankie J, my expectations are always high. His sophomore album, "The One", was a sweet offering with a handful of gems, but ultimately failed to deliver. In my opinion, it's fundamental flaw lied in its lack of ambition and creativity, saturated with sugary Latin Pop tunes that were easily forgettable. Thankfully, his third album, "Priceless", is edgier, catchier, more interesting and more ambitious than its predecessor. Perhaps that's because guest artists Chamillionaire, Slim (singer from 112), Krayzie Bone & Layzie Bone (members of Bone Thugz & Harmony), as well as producers like Mannie Fresh (who also features as a rapper on lead single "That Girl"), DJ Clue and Bryan Michael Cox (amongst others), give the album a stronger Hip-Hop influence that, unlike before, Frankie J manages to fit into (check out album highlight "Never Let You Down", an obvious ode to love and dedication with another woman, featuring Krayzie Bone & Layzie Bone).

On top of all this, Frankie has also taken an admirable shot at storytelling in many of the album's track. Over the pounding bass and dramatic violins of "Hurry Up" Frankie J frantically guides listeners through the story of a one-night-stand gone wrong, which eventually leads to him being caught out by his girl's other man. On the piano-driven ballad "Daddy's Little Girl", Frankie J plays the role of a little girl (no, it's not a confession of homosexuality to all you haters) who puts the emotional pain and heartache of watching her father leave into clear perspective through touching lyrics and smooth, vulnerable vocals. "Still" is another interesting piano ballad where, in this case, Frankie J finds himself deciding between a longtime ex-girlfriend who falls back in love with him and his pregnant girl-of-the-moment (the conclusion should be obvious, lol).

Unsurprisingly, most of the highlights of a Frankie J album always come in the sweet, thematically simple ballads which are rich in emotion, warmth, vulnerability and smoothness. The title track is a perfect example of this, weaving beautiful vocals with sweet falsettos, smooth production and strong lyrics about hesitantly hoping his girl will come back to him before it's too late. Not much needs to be said about the self-explanatory, compelling piano-violin ballad "Is This What You Call Love" (which sounds remarkably similar to his superior debut single "Don't Wanna Try") or the sweet guitar ballad "Say Something", where Frankie J readies himself for a beautiful woman nearby.

Unfortunately, there's the typical filler and/or lacklustre tracks everyone would be better off without. Frankie J's inclusion of the names of Prince, Vanity 6 and Janet Jackson makes for a very cheesy hook on the otherwise catchy Latin Pop club tune/sex ode "Dance", while promises of materialistic offerings and such makes for a bland track on the Slim-featuring "Top Of The Line" (see the Beyonce/Jay-Z duet "Upgrade U" if you want to hear a better ode to materialism that actually has chemistry - Frankie J & Slim make a horrible combination). There's a sense of "I-think-I've-heard-this-before-ness" on the production board of the otherwise boring "If He Can't Be", then there's the clichéd, unoriginal lyricism of Chamillionaire, Frankie J & Mannie Fresh that unwelcomely ruins the latter artist's flawless blend of synthesizers, thumping bass and summery guitar of lead single "That Girl". "I Ain't Trippin'" would've been an acceptable track as a story of two lovers cheating on their respective former lovers if not for the fact that I heard a similar story on the unquestionably superior Latin ballad "She Don't Know" by Christina Milian (see her flop-tastic "So Amazin'"). Other than a few minor flaws, Frankie J fulfils my expectations and comes out with his best English album to date. 3.5 stars!

5 Best Tracks:
"Never Let You Down (feat. Krayzie Bone & Layzie Bone)"
"Priceless"
"Daddy's Little Girl"
"Hurry Up"
"Say Something"

Worst Tracks:
"Top Of The Line (feat. Slim)"
"If He Can't Be"
"I Ain't Trippin'"
"Dance"
"That Girl (feat. Chamillionaire & Mannie Fresh)"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How Very Dare They!, November 10, 2006

By	James Lee "prototype89" (London, England) - See all my reviews

I am really angry at how the Bonus Track 'Break' was taken off the CD! This happens to be one of the best songs off the album, making it only available on Itunes is completely unfair! I LIKE PHYSICAL CD'S! NOT DOWNLOADS!

If there are any Frankie J fans out there, look out for 'Break' which is an 'Album Only' track on Itunes, so you can't even download it, on its own!

The Priceless album, somewhat continues to carry on the legacy of Frankie's albums, in that they're really likeable, with various catchy songs, but on the whole aren't as breathtakingly original as some other artists, like Justin Timberlake (Furture/Sex), who although is not half as talented as Frankie, has some excellent producers, which helps to escalate quality.

Nevertheless, the album does have some true gems, such as 'If He Can't Be', which is a nice homage to 80's music, and is damn well catchy and original in a music chart full of typically generic R'n'B tunes.

Other highlights obviously include 'Break', and 'Still' which are the standard well sung ballads, you come to expect of Frankie's albums. His theme song 'Priceless' is also a very good track, with hints of the old skool, Bobby Brown sound.

The rest of the album is a little run of the mill, with the exception of Daddy's Little Girl, which is reminiscent of Kelly Clarkson's 'Because of You', which is a good thing.

Let's hope the next album is even better than the this one, and fingers crossed, Timbaland will have something to do with it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly is PRICELESS!!!, October 19, 2006

By	Maria Alexandra "Tita" (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews

Frankie did it again!!!. This cd is absolutely amazin, and worth every penny. From start to finish this album is bomb!!! As we all know Frankie is an amazin singer, but this album really proved what an incredible producer and song writer he is. The words to his songs as just so honest, and the way that he sings them is like he is tellin a story, and even though this might sound hella cheesy, you can really tell they are comin straight from his heart. I honestly can choose on a favorite track, all the songs are really good, and the album has a really great mixture of songs.But yea yall NEED to buy this album. It's really hard to explain how good this cd is, and i am not just sayin this cuz i am a huge fan, but it is the truth and i don't think that Frankie gets the credit that he deserves...