The album is a drama-filled roller coaster of ballads: love, lust, hate, pain, betrayal and more are explored on the dozen songs here. And Tank's songwriting is top-notch; he has a gift for painting a such a vivid picture with words that if you close you eyes, you can practically see the scenarios that he sings about take place.
Sensual & Sophisticated
There's also songs that explore other emotions, such as lust, which is dealt with in the song "Coldest," about a girl at the dance club who knows how to shake her thang in low-riding jeans; and the song "My Body," a sophisticated lovemaking slow jam. And the emotions sorrow and remorse are on display on "Please Don't Go," about a man trying to get his woman back after doing her wrong by messing around with other women.
While the mostly midtempo song production is on-point and the lyrics are definitely intelligent and well-thought-out, if there's one thing that continues to hinder Tank after all these years, it's that his voice isn't distinctive enough. Yes, it's strong and can be powerful, but it doesn't stand out; most people still wouldn't recognize him or his voice upon hearing one of his songs for the first time. An R. Kelly song, for instance, is instantly recognizable; but Tank sounds like an cross between Usher, Jamie Foxx and Tyrese, with a little Marvin Gaye thrown in.
If he could manage to break free of his stylistic constraints and create for himself a type of singing that's all his own, then that - along with his fresh, non-cliched songwriting and strong production skills - would make him one of the top male artists in R&B.
