Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Portable Masterpeice, February 20, 2007
I was actually able to snag this CD at Wal Mart last Friday (5 days before it officially came out), seems someone didn't pay attention to street date...oh well.
Once again Toby has done it, he follows a trend that I see in too few of bands these days. Instead of pumping out 11-13 tracks of 'been there, done that', 'Portable Sounds' takes on a fresh sound and theme.
With Momentum being the 'Hard Rock' album, Diverse City being the 'Hip Hop/dance' album, Portable Sounds captures the feel of both previous efforts while throwing in a fresh sound. Portable is a little more mellow in terms of rock but the power and energy is there as always. To me, I feel a mid range 'DC Talk/Supernatural' kind of sound a little throughout the CD, so it kind of takes you back.
I feel the lyrics overall of 'Portable' are an improvement to Diverse City, where I felt the Christian theme dropped just a little, yeah it was still there but not as strong as I usually like it. Songs like 'Made to Love' and especially 'Boomin'' are catchy.
Tru Dog makes a reappearance in the awesome and hilarious track #8. I can just see this kid following his dad's footsteps in a few years. And again, Kirk Franklin has a track with Toby that is much better than his previous appearence on Momentum's 'J Train'. Before it seemed like he just kind of sat there and talked, but this time he actually does some singing, the track overall it pretty good and I'm not much of a KF fan.
And finally, more than once Toby has some witty and funny skits between songs which I think makes the album that much more fun. Some I listened to over and over again.
Overall, I think this CD is another dead-on bullseye for Toby, even under the giant shadow of his two previous records, Portable Sounds easily comes out able to stand on it's own as a solid album. Even with it's more (dare I say it) mellow sound compared to the extreme musical themes of Momentum and Diverse, Portable Sounds is without a doubt one of my favorite CD's and will please both newcomers and older fans alike. For a 40+ year old (that's right, go check out his birthday) Toby rocks just as hard (if not harder) than anything coming out these days. Amazing record, get it.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better, if thats possible., March 17, 2007
If your into hardcore rap and rock, then pass this CD up. But if you like, Pop, hip hop, and dancing, then this is the CD for you.
Songs like Trudog 07 and Signal will hafta grow on you, and I have no doubt they will with me, as it has happened in the past with some Tobymac songs.
"One World", "Boomin", "No Ordinary Love", and "Feelin so Fly" are great dance songs, with lotsa hip hop flavor while "Made to love", "Suddenly" and "I'm for you", are rather pop-like. ;) I have no doubt you can dance to them all.
The Slower songs like "Face of the earth" and "All in" are catchy and fluid with a slightly similar sound.
The strange sounds like heavy metal and rap that kept me from buying his first album are all but gone, which is a major improvement. Toby's not afraid to try something new, and he pulls it off.
If I had to use only two words to describe it I woud say: Amazingly unique. Dont buy it if you like Modern pop. :)
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take'em Wherever You Go, February 11, 2008
"Portable Sounds," TobyMac's third solo effort of original work, is almost a continuation of it's predecessor, "Welcome To Diverse City." Opening with the soulful "One World" and then spilling into a wonderful mixture of rap, pop, soul, rock, hip hop, a little funk and Reggae, this album feels both fresh and comfortable at the same time. There seems to be less rock influence on this album, but "Boomin'" has a nice blend of it along with some soul. Songs like "I'm For You" and "Suddenly" highlight the pop sounds while "Feelin' So Fly" gets funky. Lighter fare such as "All In" will probably make its way to Contemporary Christian Radio and "No Signal" gives the listener some reggae pop.
As with all of TobyMac's albums, there are a few interludes. The highlight has to be "Mr. Talkbox" in my opinion. DC Talk fans will get a taste of the past when they hear "Face of the Earth." It hearkens back to some of DC Talk's lighter pop tunes.
All of the songs on this album are clear on one thing: They are Christian and aren't shy to tell you about it. There is no questioning T-Mac's motives, and it's great to see an artist with so much talent to be so unafraid of expressing his faith. Much like rock pioneers Petra, T-Mac does not back down or compromise in order to get his music on Top 40 or ACC radio. This guy is a whiz at what he does, and "Portable Sounds" is definitely a travel-worthy collection of tunes. Highly recommended.
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