Josh Kelley Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Singer/songwriter Josh Kelley delivers more of the melodic, dewy-eyed pop he's become known for on 2006's Just Say the Word. A compelling presence on record, Kelley has grown as both a songwriter and vocalist since his 2005 debut album, the intimate and soulful Almost Honest. Although Kelley is still somewhat indebted to the adult contemporary soft rock of John Mayer, it's mostly because Mayer shares many of the same inclinations toward blue-eyed soul ballads and melodic rock anthems that Kelley favors here. This is an amiable, heartfelt, hopelessly romantic, and utterly hummable collection of songs that easily draws comparisons to such classic soul singer/songwriters as Hall & Oates, Christopher Cross, and Michael McDonald. Tracks such as the yearning title cut and the joyous "You Are Part of Everything" reveal Kelley's knack for instantly memorable choruses and universally relatable lyrics that still retain a sense of the personal. Just Say the Word is the just the type of album that makes you rethink the trajectory of the artist's career and puts everything Kelley has done before and may do in the future into a truly appealing light. ~ Matt Collar, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Josh Kelley follows his polite 2003 debut, For the Ride Home, with a great leap forward called Almost Honest. For his second record, Kelley has expanded his songwriting palette past the jangly John Mayer comparisons to incorporate a slick, funky pop sound comparable to Maroon 5 or Rob Thomas' solo work. (In fact, Honest was produced by Matt Wallace, who also helmed Maroon's breakthrough, Songs About Jane.) The strong late-album cut "Hard Times Happen" could be a Jane outtake, while opener "Walk Fast" is irresistibly slinky, and possessed of a rhythm somewhere around Steely Dan. Kelley co-wrote the lead single "Only You" with the Matrix, and it bears some of the pop hitmakers' signature touches -- a processed guitar cuts through the verses over warm electronic programming, and its chorus grabs you with weird lyrics about acting "all sweetness" that nevertheless sound perfect to your tapping foot. This veer left from adult alternative, singer/songwriter shagginess does wonders for Kelley. As affable as his debut was, it was also cut from the Mayer cloth, a place where everything's a wonderland but nothing's memorable. In Almost Honest, Kelley has a confident modern pop album that's melodic and ultra-accessible, but also packed with vibrant, interesting songwriting. He works with Joe Firstman on the gorgeous title track, a song just waiting for a late-night drive, lite rock radio, and a Lionel Richie segue. And "Lover Come Up," a collaboration with Better Than Ezra's Kevin Griffin, lopes along like mildly salacious blue-eyed R&B ("And when I get the urge/I'll give the love that you deserve..."). Kelley's on his game vocally throughout Almost Honest. He's not the best singer in the world, but he doesn't pretend to be, instead working within the songs, inhabiting their dynamic arrangements. He's dusty-throat confident on the country-rocker "20 Miles to Georgia" and softly expressive on the midnight mood of "Shameless Heart." It's forgivable if the latter sounds a little too much like Chris Isaak covering Mazzy Star, because it's part of a record that wears its slick, modern sound with pride. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Josh Kelley won't be able to outrun the John Mayer comparisons. For the Ride Home, the young Mississippian's easygoing Hollywood debut, was helmed by John Alagia, the guy behind Mayer's Room for Squares and the Dave Matthews Band's Crash, among others. Kelley sports a similar flair for phrasing and first-person confession, too, especially on "Angeles" and "Travelin'." Ride Home also tends slightly toward the bland -- "I Saw You" is like a highway exit with 14 enticing yet utterly homogenous fast-food offerings. Thankfully, dollops of Kelley's homespun charm keep things interesting. Opener and lead single "Amazing" is an upbeat, dizzy number warmed by Kelley's husky expressive vocals and an organ solo. The song's similarity to Jason Mraz' "Remedy (I Won't Worry)" isn't surprising -- Alagia produced that one, too. But that's all right. For the Ride Home ends up succeeding for some of the same reasons Mraz and Mayer did -- like them, Kelley has a disheveled friendliness that's hard to resist. He's a top-shelf, road-trip conversationalist, looks great in a wrinkled oxford, and settles comfortably somewhere between sensitive and upbeat. His five o'clock shadow never gets to ten, and he's looking at you with amusement over the lip of his coffee mug. While lighthearted stuff like "Perfect 10" and the single certainly please, it's actually the quieter material that's most promising here. "Amen" is an elegiac number that suggests, well, Seal, while the arrangement for emotional standout "Home to Me" is wisely pared down to Kelley's faintly cracking vocal, an acoustic guitar, and a pretty wash of atmospherics. Taken with the rootsy, winking "Faces" ("The forecast calls for rain to take away the day/I guess we'll just have to stay inside the room...."), the track illustrates Kelley's deft, broken-in touch, and proves he's much more than just another square. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
