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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My First Crush, November 25, 2001
All my friends liked Bobby Brown in the sixth grade, but I never liked to pine away for guys who were out of my league. No ... I liked them at least remotely obtainable. So I latched on to Tevin and never let go. This, his first album, is also his best. Although Tevin would go on to complain he hated the way his voice sounded on it because he was in the midst of puberty at the time, the ballads and the pop songs still surpass any of the crap on the radio today. Its a classic album with a classic sound and age appropriate material, unlike that other whipper snapper Usher Raymond. I hated Usher at the time because he dissed Tevin on his first song saying that "I'm not going 'Round and Round,' I ain't confused," on "Just Call Me A Mack." Mack what! You're 13!!! But asides from that, at the time, Tevin was the biggest of the two. After all, LL needed Cool Moe Dee to diss, Usher needed to diss TC. Tevin went on to make a good follow up but then as he got older, everyone started to notice that he was taking to women in the same way Michael Jackson did ... as in he wasn't dating any. They he propositioned that undercover police officer, and well ... like LL, Usher won the beef.I still love Tevin though. Everytime I listen to this album it takes me back to when I was in the seventh grade and in love with an eigthth grader. I was too shy to talk to a boy, but I could always talk to Tevin. All the songs were either hits or potential hits with the Prince penned "Round and Round," the ballads "Alone With You" and "Tell Me What You Want Me To Do," and the funk enduced dance songs "Just Ask Me To" and "Strawberry Letter 23." My song to this day is "Goodbye" which I used to play over and over again while I pined away for yet another teenage boy who was unobtainable for me. I still love Tevin and would purchase the former Prince/Quincy Jones/Babyface protege next album if he ever releases another. Despite his "mishaps" he is a talented musician and I'd love to hear his voice croon once again over some new material. Sure, he wasn't the next Michael Jackson as Quincy thought he'd be, but it sure was a nice dream while it lasted.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
He's All That, December 12, 2005
It recently occurred to me that one reason middle aged white music fans (of which I am one, I gotta admit) don't particularly care for contemporary R&B is that it is not funky and raw the way that we understood the best black music to be back in the 60s and 70s. We admired the blues because it was raw and vital. And even if we recognized that Atlantic and Motown soul were considerably slicker, they were still direct and emotive and ultimately more powerful than almost anything else on the top 40 playlists of the era.
Somewhere along the line, R&B became a lot less about R and only vaguely connected to the B. It was as slick and as studio oriented as much of the product of contemporary white artists. Clearly it was sassier and more street smart than most of the other stuff we were hearing on the radio. But by then, we old guys had pretty much abandoned the radio anyway, and were more likely to hole up with our old Aretha or Tina albums than we were to listen to the newer artists--or for that matter to even listen to most of the newer Aretha or Tina albums.
It's very easy to become and old fuddy duddy. All you have to do is live long enough. But it's also a good exercise to at least occasionally explore music you might have otherwise ignored or abandoned. Whenever I listen to urban R&B of the past 15 years or so, I am often surprised by it. The production is slicker, the arrangements more sophisticated, and the songs more frankly sexual than what we used to call R&B. But it still works, and even if there are few divas to rival Aretha (just wait a millenium or two), the singers are much more powerful and emotive than I ever would have guessed.
Take Tevin Campbell, for example, I do recall hearing the name in the early 90s, but I don't think I was even aware that his popularity soared and then diminished precipitously as he matured. (And, yes, after reading some of the postings here, I realize that that may have had a lot to do with some personal "troubles"--some of which, in this supposedly enlightened age, should never have been so troubling.)
But anyway, what a voice! The adolescent "Tevvy Tev" of this record had a remarkable range. He opens this album with a Prince song, "Round and Round," which evokes Prince but does not slavishly imitate his phrasing. The wail that begins and ends the song sounds almost primitive, like a call to a tribal gathering. A remarkable performance for so young an artist.
And speaking of his age (14 to 15) at the time of this recording, there is a youthful buoyancy to most of these tracks that is refreshing and quite honest. For the most part, he sings as if he's 15 and not 30. A playful song like "Little Brother"--featuring singer Tyler Collins in the role of the unattainable exotic SEVENTEEN year old he's pursuing--plays off his youth in an lively, exuberant way. Tevin sounds irrepressible and just a little cocky. And that's part of his appeal throughout.
And he can just as handily take on a love-and-brotherhood Alan and Marilyn Bergman showstopper like "One Song" and imbue it with depth and meaning that many adult singers could never muster. Ideals that might sound a little schlocky expressed by a more mature singer sound just about right (and a heck of a lot less naive) when sung by a younger artist.
Like so many R&B records of the 80s and 90s, this record splits up production duties, and this time they're divvied up among some of the greats, including Quincy Jones and Narada Michael Walden. The 15 year old Tevin Campbell was indeed lucky to win the patronage of such accomplished producers. There is nothing splotchy about the album (unlike many records with multiple producers at helm at different times): it flows beautifully. About the only production touch (or was it an artist's whim?) that I would disagree with is the jokey ending to "She's All That." Cute the first time, the "Hefty Bagd full of chips" line loses its charm after the first couple of hearings, and this bit of adolescent silliness really is NOT the way to close out an album that otherwise showed great polish and maturity.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than Any *NSyncer..., September 1, 2000
Tevin Campbell can sing much better than any of these *N Sync pop tarts...His rich, soulful voice holds a note much longer and better than anyone else. With a Michael Jackson flava, this album (produced by Quincy Jones, musical great) is one of Tevin's best. Can you believe he was only about 13? Here are my reviews of the songs on this album. 1.) Round And Round: A head-bopping, feet-tapping song, Tevin croons along with Prince on this feel-good tune. 2.)Interlude: Over the Rainbow and Onto the Sun: Tevin's soft, gentle voice leads into a sweet ballad. 3.) Tell Me What You Want Me To Do: It placed high on the R+B Singles Chart, and with good reason. Tevin's passionate voice brings tears to your eyes. 4.) Lil Brother: A funny song, it illustrates Tevin's problems in getting an older girl to go out with him--something anyone can relate to! 5.) Alone With You: Another head-bopping song shows off Tevin's rich voice. 6.) Strawberry Letter 23: Okay, I admit I had no idea what this song was about, but it makes you wanna dance anyway. 7.) One Song: This definitely brings tears to your eyes. A choirboy feel with a choirlike background, Tevin sings with passion and certainty in this song about getting along. 8.) Just Ask Me To: With a brief appearance from Chubb Rock, Tevin's voice makes this a foot-tapping hit. 9.) Goodbye: Truly awesome. A breakup from someone he loved has never sounded better. 10.) Perfect World: Not as cheesy as the title; it makes you dance. No annoying "uh's" and "babys" like Britney Spears. 11.) Confused: Tevin's confusion in this song makes you think, hey I know what he's talking about. His great singing voice is truly visible here. 12.) (Look What We'd Have) If You Were Mine: Really an amazing ballad. This is one of my faves. 13.) She's All That: Another song that makes you nod along to it, Tevin's flirty vibe makes you wanna hit Repeat. Overall grading, A+. You'll love it.
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