Album Review: Ruben Studdard - Love Is

Posted by Mack of Sound-Savvy On 3:15 PM


Artist: Ruben Studdard
Album: Love Is
Release Date: 5.19.2009

It’s a supreme understatement to say Ruben Studdard hasn’t fared quite as well as some of his fellow American Idol winners. With meager reception, he has released his 4th album, the smooth contemporary R&B project Love Is. Here’s my thing about Ruben: he’s a great singer but his artistry leaves much to be desired. If Simon Cowell were reviewing this album, he’d say it’s “a bit karaoke” or “a bit lounge singerish”. There’s an overall lack of energy in this album, as if Ruben doesn’t connect with the music in a way that moves him. Thus, I wasn’t moved…

Out of the album’s 12 tracks, 4 are covers, including an above average rendition of Michael Jackson’s I Can’t Help It. Studdard also takes on old school hits like More Than Words (Extreme), The Long And Winding Road (The Beatles) and For The Good Times, made popular in the genre by Al Green. Don’t Make ‘Em Like You No More caught my attention with its more modern pop appeal, and the album closes with the power ballad Footprints In The Sand.

Even with the previously mentioned noteworthy songs, the overall selection is rather boring. This is the album our parents and older generations would probably enjoy more for its smoothness and simplicity, but it fails to fizzle for me and there’s nothing memorable on this album. The issue here is the lack of energy, and for that reason I wouldn’t consider it soul music, more like glossy R&B. So if you’re looking for soft, smooth background music, this album has what you need, but nothing more…

Sound-Savvy officially rates Love Is with 2.5 out of 5 platinum headphones.

1 Comment

  1. Sane Said,

    I just copped this album from Album Hunt last Weds I think, and I gotta say....it's definately tranquil. Right off the bat, I noticed that it was nothin' but ballads and that's not always a bad thing, especially when you have a voice like his. He's staying with what works for him in my opinion and I can respect that. There were a few joints on here that I think could get play on cross-over stations. It's completly an album for a mature group of people though, it's totally not for anybody under the age of 25 who are used to bump and grind music and lyrics. If I had to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, i'ma give it a promising 7, only because i've played it twice so far. Maybe a few more runs and that number might climb. As always, great review, Miggity.

    Posted on May 29, 2009 at 6:45 PM

     

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