Customer Reviews

Soulful

5 star:		(433)
4 star:		(129)
3 star:		(81)
2 star:		(104)
1 star:		(247)

 

 

I CAME HERE TO READ THE REVIEWS OF RUBENS CD...INSTEAD....I FIND INSULTS OF ALL KINDS BEING HURLED AT ONE ANOTHER......AND BY THE WAY .... WHAT HAS CLAY AIKEN GOT TO DO WITH THIS CD? HE IS NOT SINGING ON THIS ALBUM. MY GOODNESS!!! I'VE READ A NUMBER OF THESE REVIEWS AND CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MANY TIMES CLAY AIKEN HAS BEEN HARSHLY ATTACKED BY MANY OF YOU.HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO ANY OF YOU.I UNDERSTAND THESE YOUNG MEN ARE FRIENDS...PLEASE RESPECT THEIR FRIENDSHIP. NOW TO MY REVIEW. I THINK THAT THE CHOICE OF SONGS ON THIS CD DO NOT SHOWCASE THE BEAUTIFUL VOICE THAT RUBEN HAS.HE HAS PROVEN THAT HE HAS THE TALENT,I HOPE THAT HE MIGHT MOVE IN THE DIRECTION OF LUTHER AND YET STILL BRING HIS OWN STYLE INTO HIS MUSIC. I HAVE NOT GIVEN UP ON RUBEN...I BELIEVE HE CAN DO MUCH BETTER THAN THIS.

I am a fan of AMERICAN IDOL, but not a huge fan of any particular contestant - just a casual fan of most of the top contestants. I did not vote in either season as I usually had to go to work (nightshift at a hospital) soon after each episode. I have purchased CDs by Ruben, Kelly, Clay & Justin & I also plan to purchase Kim's. If Tamyra (who shares my name) ever puts one out, I will buy it, too. Do not write me off as a big Clay or Kelly fan because I am not. I like all these singers pretty much equally. To insinuate that just because someone disagrees with your fangirly raves about your idol's CD that they must be a rival basher is nonsense & just plain insulting.I loved Ruben's AI2 performances when he was "on." By that I mean in fine voice & seemingly happy to be there & upbeat in his performance style. In reality, he was nowhere near as perfect as the judges made him out to be & with that they did him a grave disservice. Both Kelly & Clay received criticism, sometimes constructive, & I think they took the advice & ran with it. I think that is why their performances continue to improve even thru today. They have both produced admirable first albums, tho there is always room for progression.The producers of AI2 let Ruben slide sometimes when he gave a less than stellar performance & it seems that they have done the same with him on this CD. To be honest, I was expecting more of a straight R&B album & that is from where some of my disappointment stems. Consequently, my favorite tracks are the ones where the AI Ruben shines singing the type of music I was expecting from him. I think a lot of his voting public probably feel the same way & that is why you are getting some negative reviews here.It's not that I dislike hip-hop ... I am in fact a fan of Eminem, Outkast, Queen Latifah, Beyonce, Black-Eyed Peas & others ... I just prefer it when it is really well-done & I'm not exactly especially impressed with the tracks Ruben is offering in that genre. Some of the lyrics are way too repetitive, the beats redundant & the themes kind of silly. Yes, I prefer straight-out R&B, the old-fashioned Luther-style, which is what I thought I'd be getting from Ruben in greater quantity.I fear that J Records is trying too hard to push him into a more contemporary format, or maybe that's Ruben's desire, I don't know. But whoever made the decision that Ruben should go hip-hop is just plain wrong. Maybe future albums are the place to try new things, but with his first, I was really hoping for the Ruben I know & love. There is such a huge void in real R&B/Soul music on the charts today & I was praying that Ruben could be the saviour of the genre. I guess I thought wrong.I still like his voice when he is really putting his all into a performance. And since I am from his hometown, I want to support him & believe me, my opinion is not appreciated around here! But judging from their albums, I think Kelly & Clay are more on track with what the public wants from them & what suits their personalities & voices. Their CDs aren't perfect by any means, but at least there isn't a tune on either of them where I say to myself, "She/he shouldn't be singing that."As for poor Justin, I think he was a victim of AI mis-management & his album isn't all that bad, to be truthful. But it's also nowhere near what you would expect from his AI1 performances.IMHO, the quality of the 4 AI albums I've heard so far is thusly: 1.Clay 2.Kelly 3.Ruben 4.Justin. I know that arrogant media critics have bashed all 4 of them unmercifully simply because of anti-AI bias, but the truth is that all 4 of them are better than most of what you hear on the radio nowadays! I am so looking forward to Kim Locke's CD next year because if I ever came close to having a favorite, it was probably her or Tamyra.

I gave the CD 2 stars only because, in my opinion, it has a few redeeming tracks, namely, Sorry 2004, How Can you Mend a Broken Heart, Superstar and Flying Without Wings. Only there did I hear the Reuben I had admired on AI... The other tracks literally gave me a headache. Not only were these other tracks filled with annoyingly repetitious dragging beats and insipid lyrics, but Reuben's voice often sounded raspy and strained...like finger nails on a chalk board. If I have to listen to another "Oh baaaaaby" or "Oh yeaaaaah" I will go nuts. I had originally intended to purchase an additional CD for my niece who is a huge Reuben fan, but I don't want her to be disappointed.
Please Ruben, will you choose better material for your next CD? You are capable of so much better.

First of all, everyone on all sides of the American Idol rivalry (this includes both Clay AND Ruben fans) need to give it up. Quit using Amazon reviews as a messageboard forum for which to spew hate and biases. BOTH sides are guilty.

Now, to the more important matter at hand: Ruben's CD. I liked Ruben profusely on the show, thought he had a great voice. He churned out some wonderful performances. He stated again and again after the show ended that he was postponing his CD because he was aiming for quality. My two questions therefore are this: what quality? and were you joking?

Soulful is a mix of generic R&B/rap tunes that range from forgetable at times to just plain stupid. Perhaps Ruben wanted to avoid being categorized as: "just another pop singer from American Idol" by going the hip-hop route; but if that's the case, at least be honest about the material. It's NOT any more cutting edge than Kelly Clarkson's album for example... but at least I enjoyed hers. And this is hardly Soulful. Banal is more like it.

I suppose I'm being a bit harsh. It's just it really was a shock to buy the CD and feel as though Ruben sold-out. I just do NOT enjoy the hip-hop songs one bit, and unfortunately they make up the majority of the disc. I wasn't expecting it from him.

The Good: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (a wonderful song to begin with), Superstar and Flying Without Wings (songs I was already sick of to begin with).

The Bad: No Ruben (anything that's self-referential is usually bad), Can I Get Your Attention... and many other unremarkable dreck type songs, which include some of the dumbest lyrics in history.

The Ugly: Take the Shot and What If... two of the wosrt songs I've ever listened to in my life.

Ruben, take some advice: You have the capability to be great, just as all the American Idol alumni do. You brought me to tears with some of your ACTUAL soulful performances on the show. This? Is not great. This is laughable. If this is TRULY what you wanted when you talked about the quality of your album, then so be it. You have to follow your heart I suppose...

But you lost a fan in the process.

RUBEN HATERS.. RUBEN HATERS.. RUBEN HATERS..GIVE ME A BREAK! THE WRITINGS ON THE WALL FOLKS AND ITS NOT VERY GOOD..ITS NOT CLAY AIKEN ON THIS CD SO STOP BLAMING HIM. ITS NOT ABOUT RUBENS RACE OR WEIGHT EITHER. I THINK RUBEN HAS A BEAUTIFL VOICE BUT THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO GO. WHEN HE SANG ..I COULD SHOW YOU THE WORLD HE SOUNDED AWESOME. REMEMBER WHEN HE SANG THE BEE GEES SONGS? HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE HIS BEAUTIFUL VOICE. I KNOW THAT RUBEN HAS IT IN HIM.. IF HE WANTS MY MONEY HE IS GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE ME HIS BEST. THIS CD IS FULL OF MUSIC THAT IS SUITED FOR SOMEONE ELSE. IN ONE OF THE REVIEWS SOMEONE SAID THEY FELT CHEATED...WELL SO DO I.

I do not recommend this at all. Different than the show, I do not want slooooooooooooow songs mixed with Hip-Hop songs. What on earth is this, seems like Ruben wanted to please everyone, makes no sense at all to me! UGH

Ruben has a pleasant voice and a pleasant sound but this CD is best described, in my opinion, as average. There is nothing outstanding in any way and I would not be inclined to listen to this on a regular basis. Not bad, but not remarkable.

Loved Ruben throughout AI. His voice is what this CD is titled: Soulful. But this album is hardly soulful. Very over-produced which is just not needed with someone who has his type of voice. Whoever led him down this road of an album did Ruben very wrong. Ruben should have done his homework and followed the direction of some classic soul artists such as Al Green, Barry White, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield. Ruben could have put out such a classic debut album with his sensational voice had he followed these cats leads. Instead, the money hungry execs got ahold of Ruben and tied him to this heartless, waste of everyones time, piece of trash of an album. Cheesy hip hop tracks do no justice to Rubens crooning. The lyrics? Downright annoying and terrible. Such childish lyrics. I had a feeling this would be the outcome for this album initially knowing the execs want to make as much money off Ruben as possible and geared this towards the teenybopper street cred hip hop crowd. I didn't even intend to buy the album thinking this, but then saw Ruben in the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade performing the first track of this album 'Sorry 2004' and came away impressed with that track. Well folks, I'm very sorry to say that while 'Sorry 2004' is a standout track here, the rest of the disc goes straight downhill from there. Ruben, if you are reading this? Fire all those idiots you have working for you and do your own thang. Get your groove going in some late night sweaty clubs and put your heart into your music instead of just being led down this line like a robot. You got soul brother and you are much better than this drivel. Funk it up. Get some horns around you. You and those chops of yours could be the ultimate funk/soul brother for this day and age. Leave the hip hop to the rappers who have no choice but to rap since they can't sing. C'mon Rube! I expected much better than this!

Just kidding, guys. But I am amazed how much space for reviews is being used to "call each other names". Ruben has a decent voice but I don't find it that impressive. As for him not doing want he wanted--Ruben basically told the producers that this was "his car, that if they wanted to be the drivers, they could get another car"--that was the real cause for the delay--so I think the album is EXACTLY what he wanted, It just isn't what I want. I wanted more "Luther Vandross" and less hip hop and "ballin'". But that's just me. If his fans love him as much as they say, then his sales will tell the story.

I thought the whole idea of American Idol was to find a Popstar? I feel like the people that voted for Ruben like myself were misled. I bought this CD thinking it was the Ruben from American Idol but it's not. If you like R&B then you might like this album, if you are expecting Ruben from the show you will be disappointed. Listen before you buy this one.