Review: Javier - 'Left of Center'

If there's a drawback to the album, it's that Javier seems to be a jack-of-all-trades, yet master of none. Like many young artists, his vocals are perfect-pitch, but lack emotion. There are many songs that range from good to very good, yet only a couple reach that elusive "excellent" range. But on the plus side, there's no real stinkers here, either. Every song is listenable and most are quite enjoyable. So, the bottom line is: Javier's Left of Center is alright.

When singer-songwriter-musician Javier entered the music scene with his self-titled debut LP in 2003, he didn't make a tremendous impact on the music scene, but he did demonstrate that he wasn't just another singer-wannabe who was long on looks and short on talent. And on his sophomore LP, Left of Center, the Connecticut native manages to stay true to his core sound, while adding new elements to it.

Cases in point: the first single, "You're the One," is a funk-guitar fueled exercise that stretches R&B's boundaries. And the alluring Spanish guitar-driven "Dance For Me," is also impressive, particularly since its Javier himself who's actually the guitarist. (FYI, A lukewarm reggaeton remix of "Dance For Me" closes out the album.) In addition, gospel is the order of the day on the uplifting "The Answer is Yes."

Left of Center (the title refers to the LP's slightly-different feel from most modern R&B) is a delight for anyone who loves the adult contemporary side of modern R&B music, exemplified by such acts as Brian McKnight, Toni Braxton and Babyface. However, unlike the aforementioned, Javier at this stage in his career seems to lack the depth and emotive skills that the best singers have.

On the plus side, unlike many contemporary R&B albums, which feature wall-to-wall 'super-producers' and numerous guest vocalists, refreshingly, there's only one guest singer here, soul man Anthony Hamilton, who adds a layer of excellence to one the album's best tracks, "Count On Me."