Amerie Cops More Than a Cheap Feel Her Second Go-Round : Touch
To most, she was pretty average; nothing special that hadn’t been seen or heard somewhere, sometime before. She was just another face in the recent bumper crop of young female R&B ‘divas’ trying to make a career flourish in the wake of the death of, who would have been the strongest force to be reckoned with in female R&B, Aaliyah.
And being viewed as such, she was quickly dismissed. Her debut release, All I Have, struggled for nearly a year to go Gold, based on the strength of 2 minor hits, and by that same time, next year, Amerie had all but disappeared from the spotlight and seemed to be another face that blended in with the ‘one-hit wonder’ crowd.
But in her 3-year absence, the producer who helmed her debut, Rich Harrison, prospered in the spotlight. His production style went from the bargain-bin, faux-instrumentation R&B sound and morphed into the insane horn section that drove Beyonce crazy and the blaring sax loop that got Jennifer Lopez right.
Then out of left field, Amerie and her Ritalin-riddled drum parade came back with a vengeance to prove that Amerie, the “work-in-progress”, was finally complete. 3 years and 12 tracks later, Touch has arrived on store shelves with the question looming over it, is it a stroke of genius or just a cheap feel of R&B generics?
Stylistically, 1 Thing was, is, and probably will be the best single from the crop of the newer female R&B singers making a comeback this year. Riding the most frenetic, agitated, and memorable drum loop imaginable (The Meters – “Oh, Calcutta!”), spastic ad-lib free, Amerie re-emerges with the biggest bang conceivable. Her scorching soprano lights fire to this track as she exclaims just how enamored she is in the most exuberant manner possible.
Utilizing the DC go-go sound well, a trained ear will notice the song is actually off-key but the sheer and infectious energy of her vocals and the production itself makes that quibble irrelevant. The remix with Eve tagged on at the end is a cheap inclusion to bloat the track listing and extend the album’s playtime but thankfully, it adds nor takes away from the track’s contagious liveliness.
Too bad the contagiousness doesn’t spill over onto the next track, All I Need. A stumble so early on in the album doesn’t give the listener a very positive outlook about the rest of it. Riding a Dexter Wansel sample, Rich works from the ground up, building a staccato horn loop around the skittering percussion, giving a platform for Amerie’s soprano to work with. Sadly, the production doesn’t seem fleshed out enough and Amerie’s performance is lackluster. Conceptually and lyrically, the song isn’t much to brag about either. This is one of those terribly average moments.
Second single, Touch, doesn’t fare much better. Amerie couldn’t help herself and just had to take a dip in the Lil’ Jon wellspring of crunk&B. Thankfully, it’s devoid of his schizoid shout-outs, but that’s the only true highlight. The Indian-tinged production isn’t very catchy nor infectious but Amerie’s coquettish vocals seem to momentarily save the day. The concept being more than just a good girl is noteworthy but the execution sounds like more thought into it would’ve brought about a better result.
Thankfully, things pick back up with the next track and it’s worth nothing that on this album, Amerie wrote all of the tracks sans one and I’m only giving her credit as a songwriter because it shows actual growth and improvement of her material. Case in point, on Not The Only One, she makes infidelity sound so good. Not saying infidelity is a good thing nor that two wrongs make a right, but wrong and right are irrelevant here.
Produced by Bryce Wilson (of Groove Theory), it’s actually a song of empowerment of sorts as Amerie informs her man that she’s aware of his infidelity but that she’s found her own way of coping, one that apparently doesn’t involve “sitting home alone/waiting by the phone/oh no, not me/you’re not the only one creeping”. Just the manner in which Amerie coos the above with such a seductive tone of hurt yet vindication against the Timbo-esque synth-laden, staccato percussion skittering against the backbeat makes for one smoldering record.
But things stumble back downhill just a smidge with Like It Used To Be. Rich’s production relies on the thundering drum kicks to carry it, not fleshing out the Middle Eastern-guitars and tambourines buried in the mix; something that would give the song more personality. Amerie’s vocals are unsurprising and the lyricism is standard for the self-explanatory concept. Again, not bad, it just fails to capture and hold your attention.
Talkin’ About gets things back into gear. Sounding like the adult sister to “1 Thing”, Rich takes yet another chaotic drum loop (that ingeniously sounds like clanging pots, pans and kettles), stitches with a cyclic horn blare every 4th bar or so, and Amerie takes it to town and paints it red as she bounces and glides all over it, in such an aggressive manner. Amerie and the song’s effervescence are what I’m talkin’ about. It’s definitely when she’s at the top of her game.
Come With Me continues that trend. The backbeat is pretty spare, utilizing a staccato drum loop, ominous synth line, and faux-synth keys, but has a distinctive ‘thump’ that allows Amerie to bring the song to life as she assures a heartbroken man that she’s the only one with a cure for him. A fairly simple record that has more of a lasting impact that one would expect.
Her hot streak simmers down considerably with Rolling Down My Face. Sampling the classic Roy Ayers, it doesn’t opt for a more laidback, jazzy sound as the intro hinted at but has more of an up-tempo edge. Amerie’s vocals are a little more restrained as she reveals the source of the pain that causes the tears to roll. The vocal performance is good and the lyrics on the verses are well-done but the hook is redundant and the song doesn’t quite live up to its full potential.
Another surprising aspect of this album is that it is a mainstream R&B album not inundated with cameos. The only “official” cameo on the record is Carl Thomas, who soulfully duets with Amerie on the pining, near-ballad Can We Go. Using EWF as its soundscape, a rich, dreamlike tapestry of strings and percussion is woven that has such a soulful sheen to it that really underlines the duo’s vocal performances well. Carl turns in yet another stellar performance and Amerie makes a worthy duet partner, her soprano having a surprising controlled lushness to it that complements Carl well. They play the role of longing lovers well and this record’s execution of their sorrow and heartbreak is perfect.
Another (welcome) surprise is the lack of ballads. There’s only one true ballad on the record, and it’s only passing because it has the slowest tempo of them all. Just so happens that Just Like Me is also the most boring and generic song on the record. With a surprising co-write from Ms. Sunshine Anderson (who’s needs to hurry up and finish recording her sophomore album), I expected for this ballad to be much more interesting. Dre & Vidal’s production is sweet and twinkly and has a graceful feel to it, enhanced by the soft strings, but it seems to plod with no sense of direction. Amerie turns in a controlled vocal performance but she sounds bored with it and the lyrics do seem to have heart but kinda get lost in translation. Either that, or the song’s too boring to really examine its true meaning.
Falling doesn’t fare much better but it is a bit more interesting and entertaining. Red Spyda created a dreamy backdrop for Amerie to gush all over as she exclaims how she’s helplessly falling for a certain someone but at 5:00, the song seems to end but realizes it has more space to fill and thus meanders. Had it not been for the bonus tracks, the ending would’ve been a disappointment.
There’s been some definite growth between for Amerie between All I Have and Touch.All I Have was overall panned by critics and consumers for the simple fact that it sounded like a ‘work-in-progress.’ Rich Harrison was all to blame; he hadn’t yet figured out his distinct production style and resorted to Amerie’s album being his experiment; it had occasional glimpses of brilliance but overall, fell flat. But time has allowed both Amerie and Rich to age gracefully. He’s honed his sound, she’s taken more control, and the duo has finally gotten their dynamic right.
Touch is vibrant, energetic, aggressive, effervescent, sensual, sexy, and everything a good R&B album should be. She’s learned how to properly use her voice, her songwriting has a lot of potential, and the production hits you hard and leaves impressions in all the right places. Is it a stroke of genius or just a cheap feel of R&B generics? It’s neither. It rests comfortably in the middle and poises itself to send Amerie to the head of the female R&B class. Out of the crop, Amerie will be the one who has the most success and longevity. Everyone else can go home now. Amerie’s here to stay. In fact, she’s probably the only one who deserves to stay.
