Keyshia Cole Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
A Different Me offers more dimensions, from lyrical and production standpoints, than Keyshia Cole's first two albums. Everything she recorded prior to this came from some degree of pain. Even though Just Like You's "Heaven Sent" was as beatific as anything else on the charts throughout 2008, its sentiment came more from a sense of relief in the wake of relationships gone sour, and "Let It Go" was made for the club but dealt with "roaming dogs." Overall, this is Cole's most free-spirited and adventurous album to date, and it is not without its stretches where reach exceeds grasp, like the jazzed-up, over-busy statement of purpose "Make Me Over" and the surprisingly saccharine "This Is Us." Yet there's a core of at least seven songs here that rate as highly as the best from the first two albums, and they're anything but reheated. "Don't Stop" beams with energy and pure, uncomplicated joy. "Oh-Oh, Yeah-Yea" is yearningly seductive, from Cole's pleas to its drawn-out tides of strings. In "Thought You Should Know," she doesn't drop her guard entirely while revealing more vulnerability than ever. "No Other" is the only track that sounds cut from the same cloth as Just Like You, and the resemblance is only in sound, with the equally urgent and sweepingly dramatic "Shoulda Let You Go" a definite reference, but the emotions between the two are starkly contrasting, with regret exchanged for aching desire. Cole pushes herself into new territory and becomes a more versatile songwriter and vocalist in convincing, frequently thrilling, fashion. Here's where the comparisons begin to fade away. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Keyshia Cole's ascent was prepared with an appearance on the Barbershop 2 soundtrack and a mixtape presented by DJ Green Lantern, yet 2005's The Way It Is wasn't exactly hotly anticipated. On the strength of two Top Ten R&B singles, the album eventually went platinum, several months after release, slowly transforming her into one of R&B's biggest stars -- one often mentioned on a first-name basis, and one with several comparisons to Mary J. Blige. Cole's second album will only prompt more of those comparisons, nearly to the extent that it might seem like its purpose. In addition to becoming Blige's labelmate at Geffen, Cole prefaced the album's release with performances that included her takes on "I'm Going Down" and "Sweet Thing" -- two songs memorably updated by a young Blige -- which could be construed as insolence, reverence, or a combination of the two. In some ways, Just Like You plays out like an album that could've only been made after Blige's Breakthrough. The common collaborators include Rodney Jerkins, Ron Fair, and Bryan-Michael Cox, two of whom had nothing to do with The Way It Is. "Got to Get My Heart Back" could have been written to one-up The Breakthrough's "Enough Cryin"; these two Jerkins productions are somewhat similar in makeup, though the former's sting is a little more bittersweet while also hitting just a little bit harder. "Got to Get My Heart Back" would sound natural flowing out of The Breakthrough's "Take Me as I Am," not just sonically but as the next natural development in a busted relationship -- from putting a foot down to making a recovery. Both tracks are Ron Fair productions. Songs co-written and produced by others, like "Fallin' Out" and "Give Me More," would also be easy fits on The Breakthrough, balancing desperation with conviction and mixing lush arrangements with penetrative melodies. Add a wicked Missy Elliott-produced throwback to Bad Boy's golden era, a repeat appearance of Cole's album-stealing feature from Diddy's Press Play -- which, coincidentally, also contains a Blige feature -- and a photo spread that looks very Blige-like, and you might wonder whether or not Cole is pulling a Single Black Female. (Just Like You? Just like who, exactly?) Despite all this weirdness, this stands as a very good album by Keyshia Cole, also the point where Cole's voice grows from an occasionally powerful emotive device into a versatile instrument. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
An advantage Keyshia Cole has over a lot of her young contemporaries is experience. As a foster child growing up in Oakland, she went through a lot of downs, and from the sounds of The Way It Is, her first album, she's had her share of complex relationships. Cole had a hand in the writing of just about every track, and she has a number of major players -- Kanye West, John Legend, Alicia Keys, Ron Fair (Christina Aguilera, Mya), E-Poppi (Missy Elliott, Destiny's Child) -- in her corner. With only a couple exceptions, The Way It Is is about the ugly parts of a romantic relationship, so there's little room left for upbeat material. From the opener, "(I Just Want It) To Be Over," the album seems to be set up like a linear narrative about a crumbling relationship, but it doesn't quite play out that way, with the scenes shuffled out of order. ("Love," one of the positive songs, comes after the song where the punk gets dumped and before the song where he's called out for changing.) None of it's all that profound, but Cole sells it all extremely well, especially on "I Should Have Cheated," where she tires of an accusing and hypocritical lover ("I should go have my fun and do all the things you say I do"). Cole's voice is sweet and ringing, like a wiser version of Lil' Mo who has had to weather a tremendous amount of drama. She could be around for a while. ("Never," her hit song from the Barbershop 2 soundtrack, is included.) ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
