Customer Reviews

Priceless

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

 

 

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)"

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.

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...

I never questioned Frankie J's vocal ability, but his albums as a whole were never very exciting. His first album What's a Man to Do didn't really have much to offer outside of "Don't Wanna Try", and although his second album The One had more hit material, it also still had about the same amount of filler. Plus, no one really paid attention to it after "How to Deal" lost fire (possibly because it sounded a little too much like Usher's "Burn"), even after tacking on a decent remake of Extreme's "More Than Words". This is probably why Frankie released a Spanish album only a few months later, and then he released his third English album (yes, editorial reviewer; this is his THIRD English album, not his second) Priceless a few months after THAT. While normally that would be the sign of a rush job, this is actually his best album.

One relieving thing is that Baby Bash is nowhere to be found on this album (I hear he has a new album coming out this year...*sigh*), but other guest rappers hold up pretty well. While "That Girl" (with Chamillionaire and Mannie Fresh) didn't exactly get people running to the record store, the song is pretty good. Layzie and Krayzie Bone also deliver good stuff on the aptly titled "Never Let You Down".

And speaking of that, Frankie is a lot better with fast songs than he used to be. When he tackles extramarital affairs, he impresses, whether he ends up getting away with it ("I Ain't Trippin'") or caught ("Hurry Up" -- although it's hard to picture when he talks about the other man being 7'9"). And "If He Can't Be" does a good job of interpolating Billy Idol's "Eyes Without a Face". But Frankie also still scores with ballads, as evidenced by "Still" and the title track.

"Top of the Line" (featuring Slim of 112) doesn't really help or hurt the album, and the necessary song with a message ("Daddy's Little Girl") is a little hard to get into. But the corny "Dance" should have been left behind (especially when Frankie talks about liking the girl's Janet Control). But this is still a great album. Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised if Frankie is dropped from Columbia, especially considering this album has been out for almost a year and this is only the tenth review for it. But Priceless is still worth picking up.

Anthony Rupert

Frankie J did it again...if you love R&B, this is a must have.
Top 3
Never Let You Down
Is This What You Call Love
Top Of The Line

I own all of Franke J's CD's and this is the only one where I love every single song on it. On all of his other efforts there seems to be a handful of songs that I like and the others seem to be just plain bland and boring. It is great from beginning to end. This CD has the perfect blend of great slower songs to uptempo R&B jams. Frankie has such a good, smooth and captivating voice that just draws you in.

1. "That Girl" - The first single released from this CD with a great melody and catchy beat that makes you want to bounce. A hook that you will find yourself humming and/or singing to. 5/5

2. "Priceless" - The title track from this CD is a nice slow jam with great vocals. Not one of the best slower songs on here but, it still great. 3/5

3. "Never Let You Down" - Love this song! A great feature from Bone. A nice midtempo song with a great melody. 5/5

4. "Daddy's Little Girl" - WOW! One of the BEST tracks on this CD. A tight ballad from start to finish. His vocals are on point. A great message! 5/5

5. "If He Can't Be" - My FAVORITE song on here!!! Awesome sample from the 80's smash "Eyes Without A Face" by Billy Idol. A hot midtempo groove. The vocals are perfect. You will repeat this song several tims!! HOT!

6. "Say Something" - A nice slower-midtempo song. Not one of the best on here but, his voice shines throughout. Good melody. 4/5

7. "Hurry Up" - Tight song! Makes you want to bob your head. Very refreshing sound. 5/5

8. "Is This What You Call Love?" - A top notch ballad! Very beatiful sound! A highlight on this CD. The vocals are amazing! A very infectious song 5/5

9. "Top Of The Line" - A faster song with a good beat. The melody is not as exciting. Not much substance to the words. The beat makes the song. 3/5

10. "Dance" - Good song. Just like the title says: You will want to DANCE. Hot beat! 5/5

11. "Still" - Nice melody and lyrics. A great midtempo songs. His voice is so good. 5/5

12. "I Ain't Trippin'" - A good song to close the album with. A more upbeat song with a good lyrical melody sung in a great falsetto tone. 5/5

Frankie J is always so underrated but his CD is a MUST have!! It's an excellent addition to any music collection.

OMG I CANT BELIVE THIS CD ONLY HAS LIKE WHAT 3 REVIEWS??!!...THIS IS ONE OF FRANKIE J'S BEST CD'S EVER!...FROM START TO FINISH YOU CAN PLAY IT NON STOP...LOL TOTALLY LOVE MAKIN MUSIC EVEN ON THE FAST TRACKS ;-) HEHE, I RECOMMEND THIS TO FAT,UGLY, CUTE, HOT, SEXY, SWEATY, PREVERTED, CHINESE, WHITE, MEXICANS ALL THE ICANS LOL, BASICALLY EVERYONE!!!!!! BUY IT NEGROIDS!!!

his first cd was good nice songs this one isnt as good but still great

i like never let you down and is this what you call love

I would give him 100 stars if I could! I love this CD. I loooove Frankie J! He is my favorite R&B singer and no one has a voice like he does. He's sooooo awesome!

Every single song on this new cd from Frankie J is a hit in my eyes. I absolutely love it and I've only heard it two times through at the moment. It's been worth the wait.
The most amazing song of the entire album is If He Can't Be (which samples Billy Idol's Eyes Without A Face). That song is superb. There is also Daddy's Little Girl, Dance, Hurry Up and Is This What You Call Love (a gorgeous ballad).
I can't tell you how beautiful this cd is and you absolutely have to pick up a copy. It's one of the best cd's I've bought this year and there are bound to be many hits coming out of it. If you are a fan of Frankie's, I doubt you'll be disappointed. I'm not. It's brilliant and highly recommend it.