The time frame that's referenced here is much broader, taking in the classic Motown era ('Radio Message') but also drawing as much from the smoother-than-smooth pop-soul of the 70s ('Just Like That') and the pre-new jack swing of the 80s ('Number One Hit'). I think people have been mislead by the cover art, and Kelly's own pre-release hype, because Love Letter is no way a strict recreation of 60s soul. On Love Letter he sticks tightly to the stuff that shaped the now 43-year-old singer/songwriter/producer as an adolescent and early twentysomething. Once he moved away from the lung-bursting swingbeat come-ons that made his name, his albums have been sometimes ungainly (and often over-long) agglomerations of styles. Perhaps realizing he was alienating his grown-folks base, and how silly he'd sound hopping on one of will.i.am's jumped-up ringtones, Kelly claims here that he wants to 'bring the love songs back to the radio.' And, for Kelly, growing up also means looking back. But their infrequency makes them feel charmingly silly again, and nowhere does Kelly drop a groaner on the level of 'sexasaurus.' Dumb-assed double-entendres and 'okay, really?' moments are still strewn throughout Love Letter.

By the third track he's already comparing the object of his affection (positively) not only to Avatar but Coming to America. Not to say that Kelly could ever keep from indulging himself a little. The music itself, a gorgeously rendered tribute to a certain swathe of R&B history, is praiseworthy enough, as is Kelly's frequently ignored voice. No one will be backhandedly praising Love Letter for its camp. Kelly's weird-ass brain regardless of the quality of the tunes- have been dialed back considerably. Love Letter is different in almost every way than the Kelly we've gotten to know over the last decade, good news for those who prefer solid soul records to train wrecks.Īll of the forehead-slapping elements of Kelly's more recent work- the sex metaphors, the seemingly free-associated multi-character narratives, the ego-tripping over the idea that everyone is inherently fascinated with the workings of R.

For others, they're something you have to listen past (or suffer through) to enjoy the more everyday pleasures like, oh, killer hooks, effortless funk, some of the best singing in R&B. For some Kelly fans, his excesses of personality are the crux of his appeal.

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