My Name Is Joe

Joe is hardly an appropriate name for a lover man -- it seems more like a moniker for a custodian than a Casanova-- but that's exactly what Joe is. He's an old-fashioned romantic soul crooner in the vein of Al Green, Marvin Gaye,D'Angelo, and, well, Gregory Abbott. He's not as ambitious as D'Angelo is, but that doesn't really matter,since he delivers the goods on his third album, My Name Is Joe. Joe never oversings or oversells a song, he just lays back and sweetly sings. There may not be much variety or many remarkable songs on the record -- "Get Crunk Tonight" stands out with its stuttering, fade-in-fade-out intro and its stylishly funky beat -- but that doesn't matter because this is essentially a mood record, and that mood is love. And it's not a bad romantic mood-setter, either, since Joe is an appealing vocalist, the production is lush without being syrupy, and the songs are all fairly strong, even if only a handful are exceptional ("Somebody Gotta Be on Top," "Treat Her Like a Lady," "Get Crunk Tonight," the N'Sync duet "I Believe in You"). And, really, that's enough, since anyone that gets hooked by a single from My Name Is Joe just wants an assurance that the album will deliver more of the same --and it does. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

與知名藝人的成功合作，進(jìn)而順?biāo)�推舟將自己的名聲與嗓音拱上電臺播送的強(qiáng)力媒體效應(yīng)，在音樂界的例子族繁不及備載，是互蒙其利或提攜后進(jìn)？Mariah Carey找上當(dāng)紅男子偶像四人團(tuán)體98 Degrees，收起聳著精壯肌肉的招搖影像與于97年即發(fā)行個(gè)人首張專輯《All that I am》的黑人歌手Joe，共同攜手合作一曲Thank God I Found You，除了為彼此的歌唱事業(yè)再下一城，也順勢建立個(gè)人知名度。這首單曲的成功出擊，相繼為Mariah Carey當(dāng)時(shí)略為疲軟的聲勢灌注了一點(diǎn)活力，也似乎為Joe帶來了晉身眾多都會情歌高手中一員的好運(yùn)氣。
不但征服全美，在日本也獲得極大回響的這張專輯，令日本的R&B小天后《宇多田光》贊賞不已，并與Joe互相交換對R&B音樂的研究與心得。而這次中國臺灣發(fā)行版本中，特別收錄的「No One Else Comes Close」一曲，更被目前紅遍日本的新一代R&B組合翻唱。將Joe比喻為《日本R&B風(fēng)潮的幕后推手》，實(shí)不為過。

擁有過人的演唱嗓音是成功歌手必備的要素之一，討喜精準(zhǔn)的寫曲制作功夫更是為Joe的好成績，堆砌了更是錦上添花的光芒。2000年的新專輯《My Name Is Joe》依舊帶來深情男子的成人情愛主題與更多音樂性上的杰出表現(xiàn)，首支單曲I wanna know招牌的心碎情歌，在他的詮釋下催促聽者內(nèi)心的過往起伏，也為Joe在排行榜繼Thank God I found you后的乘勝追擊，在全美的商業(yè)電臺也贏得高播放率的優(yōu)異成績。
而近日發(fā)行的新單曲Stutter在激進(jìn)快嘴Rap歌手Mystikal精彩的跨刀客串下，也以重新混音編曲后的版本，伴隨中快板節(jié)拍的厚重bass與舞動(dòng)效果十足的截?cái)嘁粜Х�(wěn)坐冠軍位置。專輯的制作群也幾乎為一時(shí)之選，除卻Joe本身引領(lǐng)主控的個(gè)人創(chuàng)作，輔以各個(gè)R&B/Hip-Hop界的當(dāng)紅制作人的合作發(fā)疇，產(chǎn)生一張誠意十足、寫照現(xiàn)代都會成人情愛的佳作。由性感女音囈語揭幕Table for two，在Joe的厚實(shí)中音演唱下傳遞一幕幕映入眼簾的男歡女愛，似乎更奠定了新一代的情歌王子地位。
與偶像男子團(tuán)體'Nsync共同合作的I believe in you依舊是一首舒緩動(dòng)人的情歌，也再次確定Joe企圖一網(wǎng)打盡屬于俊美白人男孩團(tuán)體的一票追星少男少女的用心策略；專輯當(dāng)中其他作品尚有由She'kspere (TLC, Destiny's Child...)擔(dān)綱制作的Get crunk tonight、Hip-Hop跨界流行范疇的Steve Stone (Avant, Eboni Foster...)所負(fù)責(zé)的Treat her like a lady...等動(dòng)聽作品。
回頭看看甫推出個(gè)人新作的R.Kelly，當(dāng)初頭頂新一代R&B天王的光耀頭銜抑或是過火吹捧的"盛名"？在經(jīng)過新人輩出的流行樂壇的過濾淘汰，發(fā)現(xiàn)他的煽情路線或嘗試正面勵(lì)志的招數(shù)不再管用后，也不敵聲勢滑落的窘態(tài)。才氣出眾的Joe在撕去來往情愛的片面歌詞后，剩下略嫌無趣且乏善可陳的空洞，多數(shù)黑人歌手依循過度包裹的療傷高手的形象，在相對性質(zhì)歌手過多的競爭下，容易成為所謂的"One hit wonder"，聽著Joe的新作感覺平淡穩(wěn)當(dāng)卻無所新意，或許既定的深情形象已經(jīng)奠定，不過還是期望Joe能有更不同于一般黑色男歌手的新氣象。

這張全球樂評人與DJ一致推崇的R&B經(jīng)典作品，溶入了這位新音樂才子的感情與生命，盼望能引領(lǐng)聽眾進(jìn)入樂曲浪漫的情境氣氛中，在R&B的音樂國度里，漫游愛情的苦澀與甜美，一同為愛情歌頌、傷悲與感動(dòng)。
如果你喜歡Joe的專輯《My Name Is Joe》里的歌曲可以把下面的歌曲連接發(fā)給你的朋友:
1.My Name Is Joe (intro) - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493601.html
2.Somebody Gotta Be On Top - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493602.html
3.Stutter - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493603.html
4.Table For Two - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493604.html
5.I Wanna Know - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493605.html
6.Treat Her Like A Lady - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493606.html
7.Get Crunk Tonight - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493607.html
8.5 6 3 (Joe) - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493608.html
9.Peep Show - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493609.html
10.One Life Stand - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493610.html
11.Black Hawk - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493611.html
12.I Believe In You (with ‘N Sync) - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493612.html
13.So Beautiful - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493613.html
14.Thank God I Found You (Make It Last remix, featuring Mariah Carey/Nas, edit) - Joe
http://m.ssgv4xm.cn/ting/493614.html