Anthony Hamilton ends out the year delivering good music with his 5th studio album Back To Love. The album tells a soulful story of attraction, growth, sorrow, love, heartache and happiness. The title track “Back To Love” blends Hamilton’s gritty crooner style vocals with flawless horns that add a touch of the 70’s for a match that delivers a smooth transition to the rest of the album. This album is unlike Hamilton’s others because he explores his artistic range with a few more upbeat tempo tracks. Such as “Sucka For You” a song expressing Hamilton’s attraction to a woman he ran into on a night out on the town “I ain’t too proud to beg, I ain’t too tired to stay up all night… got me breakin’ my rules, so much to prove, I’m a sucka for you” This is a contrast to the slower soulful love ballads that Anthony Hamilton is known for.
This album is full of great artistry, and expression. One song that stood out to me was the emotional “Pray For Me” Where Hamilton recalls a mistake that he made within his relationship that caused his love interest to leave him, and he calls on God for help to get her back. The only vocal feature on the album comes from Keri Hilson on the track “Never Let Go” The pair compliment each other well vocally going back and forth in a conversation about love and being hurt before. There’s a little bit of everything in this album another stand out track that makes you nod your head would have to be “Mad” one of the three tracks on the album produced by industry veteran Babyface. This song has a different flare with the addition of a harmonica to accompany the guitar and horns that offer a country western vibe mixed with Anthony Hamilton’s R&B/neo-soul charm. The last track of the album “Life Has A Way” is a minimalist styled song, with a simplistic melody that lingers in the background and allows Hamilton’s vocal ability to truly shine. Sounding like something you may hear on a Unplugged set.
The entire album is a great addition to the R&B/Neo-Soul genre. I would definitely recommend adding this to your personal collection.
Recommendations: Pray For Me, Never Let Go, Mad, Who’s Loving You, I’ll Wait & Life Has A Way
By: Katrina Moss (@iRepTrina)
