MJ Cole is one talented artist. His musical compositions are beautiful yet built simply for the dance floor. It wasn’t until I saw him mix at Vibes a few years ago that I really appreciated his style of music, but now I can listen to it all day. The style UK Garage, which has been popularised by “The Streets”, but Cole moves away from the clichés and delivers us a soulful Rhythm & Blues flavoured dance music. Cole doesn’t seem to want or need to carry the notions of other UK Garage producers to copy the USA, and gives us an album of wicked dance music without the cheesy innuendos and references to bling bling.
Not all the tunes fit into the typical “UK Garage” mould, which makes this album stand out more than his last. However, each tune will get your body shaking, your mouth humming, and head nodding. Each track features an amazing vocalist, such as Jill Scott, Vula, Felon and Niara Scarlett, who give the likes of Ashanti, Brandi and Mariah a run for their money, vocally at any rate.
Stand out tracks are the soulful Nice & Slow featuring Shaun Escoffery, Take Flight featuring Lyric L, and Mad Man, featuring the Rasta-styled waxings of Elephant Man. Speaking of Rasta, the track Ruff Like Me featuring PD Syndicate is a great example of how Cole messes with the established notions of the genre, combining reggae beats and basslines seamlessly with the notorious “two-step” beat. The final track (apart form the “hidden” track No 50) We’ve Lost Our Way featuring Shaun Escoffery is another soul filled track that reminds me of the singers of the 70s like Lionel Ritchie and Al Jarreau, and is more R&B than anything else.
If you think “The Streets” were good, then this will blow you away. If you like that R&B stuff, do yourself a favour and get this to hear how an R&B album should sound. If you like your beats, there are some awesome ones to be found here. MJ Cole yet again proves that he is one of the greatest producers of today, giving us an album of great music that straddles contemporary dance / pop music genres, with a variety and depth that cannot be found on a lot of Dance Music releases these days.