I give R Kelly credit for taking a big Step in the right direction. He handles all the production here, so this album is his most musically cohesive since the Happy People set. One of the most spirited parts, where he hosts a Christmas party remix for the Love Letter title song, is a virtual salute to that one.

Why the singer uses the metaphor of writing a Letter as opposed to sending a phone message is the question. The answer probably has to do with the album’s throwback vibe, inspired by the soul music of the 1970s and 1960s, as the cover image suggests, when letters and Radio were the thing for couples.

He compares the memory of making Love to a drunken girl in the back of a Taxi Cab to a printed photograph while channeling Michael Jackson at one point, but it’s the album’s best song. Number One Hit is another highlight. Most of the others lack the vocal melodies to match their pretty background music.

my rating : 3 of 5

2010

audio review : Write Me Back ( album ) … R Kelly