It was a long 17 years between albums for ex-New Jack Swing crooner Al B. Sure!, but on his new release, Honey I'm Home, which came out in the U.S. on June 23, 2009, Al shows that he's still got it. Not every song on the album is perfect, but for the most part, Al's voice is still silky smooth and he still has knack for making romantic, sensual songs that women can fall in love with and men can definitely appreciate. Honey I'm Home is a tastefully produced, well-sung album that continues Hidden Beach Recordings' long streak of quality music that appeals to fans of sophisticated R&B and Soul music.
Sophisticated & Romantic
Despite not having released an album of new material since 1992's Sexy Versus, Al doesn't sound the least bit rusty on Honey I'm Home. Impressively, he also doesn't try to reclaim his past glory with a bunch of dated New Jack Swing tracks, either. There's a brief nod to his biggest hit song, "Nite and Day," to kick off the album, but it only lasts about 10 seconds. From then on, the album is totally fresh and modern in sound and attitude, albeit in a sophisticated, romantic way. The album's chock full of good material, but one of the best songs is the first single, "I Love It! (Papi Aye Aye Aye)," a sexual song expressly meant for lovemaking. In fact, practically the entire album is meant to be played when romance is about to jump off. Among the other great bedroom jams are the piano-laced "Top Of Your Lungs!" and the simmering "Bye the Way, By The Way."
Of the 12 songs on the album, the only one that truly fails is "I'm Glad," a clunky, poorly arranged, oddly sung track that for some reason is third on the tracklist instead of being near the end or left off completely. And the runner up for worst song is "Whatcha Got?," which isn't particularly bad, but doesn't fit in with the rest of the album. The song, which incorporates police sirens and Auto-Tune into the backing track, sounds too much like pandering to young urban fans, and sticks out in a bad way instead of blending in. But overall, Al B. fans will be happy to know that he didn't embarass himself with this comeback: Honey I'm Home is a strong set of classy, dignified lovers' music.
