Customer Reviews

Shine

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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!"

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.

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.

Four and a half stars, actually. If you are a smooth jazz fan, there's no denying that Boney simply shines, as always. I have bought all of his previous cd's, and although I don't think it's his best (Check out Sweet Thing and Seduction), it is still super fantastic! To agree with the previous reviewer, the only thing that keeps this from being a perfect 5 is the fact that there are so many vocals. It's not that I'm complaining, but I prefer the instrumentals--Let It Go is fantastic! The vocals aren't bad (I love In The Rain featuring Dwele), but when I buy a Boney James cd, I dont't want to hear anyone else-- I want to hear all Boney--he's AWESOME!!!! He is the king of smooth, sexy sax--there's NO ONE like him! PS--If you ever get the chance to see Boney live, do it--he is fabulous live!

This CD is one of Boney's finest. Being an avid Boney fan since Trust, I have gone to many Boney James concerts, most recently in March 07 at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego, CA. Boney was magnificent! Listen to track number 2 and you will be awe struck. The entire CD is great, he has many great guest vocalists on this CD complimenting his magnificent saxophone playing. This is a must have CD, but nothing is like the real thing. You must see Boney James in concert. I have seen him at the Greek Theatre a couple of times, in the windy desert of Palmdale,CA outside at night and I have had the pleasure of meeting him in the airport and getting a super autographed photo. He is very humble and down to earth and one h*ll of a sax player.

Another fantastic CD from the artist Boney James, being a collector of this artist I have them all and this one is as good as all the others. If you are a Boney James fan then this one is a must. His saxaphone playing is magical and stirs the emotions.

if you happened to buy the six albums before this you gonna be a little disappointed.If you want him at his finest pick up Body Language and Sweet Thing.

Boney does it again with his first Concord release "Shine". Not only does it feature Boney's sensuous sax playing, but it does offer a bevy of guest artists such as George Duke, George Benson, even Ann Nesby (the grandma of American Idol finalist Paris Bennett). He sounds best on the tune "The Total Experience", which is heard on smooth jazz stations nationwide. I would certainly recommend this CD. Now if Boney would release a standards album a la Chris Botti, Maybe he can get Renee Olstead as a guest artist, or even Michael Buble.

I think this is another example of how great an artist, Boney James is.
Ordering at Amazon was fast and convient.

With every listen, the songs get better. Great vocals and Boney showcases his upbeat, urban and romantic sides.