Shine

Boney James | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 26, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Concord Records
• ASIN: B000GPIPHY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,065 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Smooth jazz star Boney James's first album for Concord is loaded with guest contributors: old guard pros including Philip Bailey, George Duke, George Benson, and Wah Wah Watson; and young stalwarts including Faith Evans, Ann Nesby, Dwele, Esthero, and Christian Scott. You don't need to be told it's a sleekly produced affair, replete with real strings as well as synthesized ones and vocal choruses, and that it showcases James's candy-sweet sound on saxophones. But James, who produced the album, tilts more than usual toward contemporary R&B, with the Evans-sung "Gonna Get It" taking top honors. He also reaches into the Antonio Carlos Jobim songbook with "Waters of March," covered not long ago by Cassandra Wilson, and with Nesby doing the emoting, animates the Chuck Mangione ballad, "Soft," with rippling keyboards. In striving to expand his appeal, though, he doesn't sell his fans short.  --Lloyd Sachs

Product Description

After fourteen years, over 2 million records, four Gold Albums, a Soul Train Award, and two consecutive Grammy nominations, Boney James begins the next chapter of his musical career. His Concord Records debut, Shine, features guest appearances by hip-hop/soul diva Faith Evans, jazz-guitar icon George Benson, R&B vocalists Dwele and Phillip Bailey, keyboard wizard George Duke, alternative-pop singer Esthero and Sounds of Blackness powerhouse Ann Nesby.

More Boney

Trust	Sweet Thing	Body Language
Shake It Up	Ride	Pure

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mmmmmmmmmmmm So Good!, September 26, 2006

By 

Gary Starr (REDDITCH, Worcs United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shine (Audio CD)

Have been lucky enough to get this three full days before US Release thanks to those good people at Soulbrother.com (London) and have been playing it none stop since. You don't need a long arty review of this to know it's just the best CD you're likely to hear this year!

Top guest artists - just look at the credits above, superb session musicians (Alex Al, John Roberts, Tony Maiden, Lenny Castro, Rex Rideout etc,) fantastic songs and above all Boney's signature sound tenor sax all add up to make this one gem of a package.

Just buy it - after all this is Boney J - "super star!"

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SENSUAL, October 29, 2006

By 

Y. Dharnidharka "D" (Middlebury, VT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shine (Audio CD)

The latest release from famed smooth sax player Boney James features guest musicians George Duke and George Benson, as well as guest vocalists Esthero, Faith Evans, Philip Bailey, Dwele & Ann Nesby ( of the vocal group " The Sounds of Blackness " ).

Contender for Smooth Jazz album of the year, Boney's effortless sax playing ( a la Grover Washington, jr.) is equally suited to Smooth Jazz instrumentals and soulful vocal cuts.

It is the latter that will appeal to the wider audience : please, check his version of the Dramatics' 'In The Rain' featuring Dwele. Also try the more contemporary style of 'Gonna Get It' featuring Faith Evans.

On the instrumental side, 'The Total Experience' (with George Duke), 'Hypnotic' (featuring George Benson) and the funkier 'The Way She Walks' hit the spot.

Produced by Boney James, 'Shine' is the perfect soundtrack for a sensual evening whether it's out on a Saturday night, or by the fire with a loved one.

29 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing CD with Too Many Vocals!, November 1, 2006

By 

Donald R. McMenimen (Greenacres, Florida, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Shine (Audio CD)

This is the 9th Boney James CD I have bought and the most disappointing. Right off the bat I would delete 5 of the songs, all with vocals: Shine, In The Rain, Gonna Get It, Love Song and finally, Soft. Smooth jazz artists don't seem to realize that the reason a lot of listeners got interested in smooth jazz in the first place is because they were sick of listening to meaningless vocals specializing in the words, "Whoa, ho, ho ho." So what we have here are 7 instrumentals and 5 vocals in which Boney makes a guest appearance similar to Santana on his album, "Supernatural." An award winner, yes, but not really a typical Santana album.

I feel, if it works, don't fix it. Boney had to have been doing something right for me to buy 9 of his CD's but I won't buy another one until I've heard it first. If it's anything like this album, I'll listen to someone else like Euge Groove. I can't stand anything that sounds remotely like hip/hop and this does. Soul Ballet (Ric Kelly) recently put out a CD entitled "Dream Beat Dream" that had a woman trying to groan along to the music and for me, it ruined the album.

I don't mind an occasional vocal, especially if it's special such as "Goodbye Manhattan" done by Pieces of a Dream with the lead song performed by the late Eva Cassidy. But don't feed me 5 vocals on a smooth jazz album and expect me to look forward to your next release. No thanks.