May 23, 2005 @ 9:41 am
Amerie - Touch (Sony Urban)
Amerie is a hopeless romantic.
Amerie is a hopeless romantic. And after listening to her 2002 debut, All I Have, it was almost impossible not to fall in love with the idea of love. The danger is even graver on the cohesive and musically mesmerizing Touch. The strikingly beautiful Korean–African American chanteuse doesn’t have a flawless voice; like Mary J. Blige, Amerie often strains to reach those higher notes. But also like Mary—and few others today—Amerie sings from the gut.
Touch’s tough beats, mostly by Rich Harrison (whose first hit was Amerie’s “Why Don’t We Fall in Love,” not Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love”), are fit for rappers. Amerie rips through them with urgent, near desperate emotion. The brash soul samples, horns, and hard club drums on the lead single, “1 Thing,” are an excellent preview of Touch’s sonic flair, though the requisite Lil Jon crunk-and-B title track is the album’s most prominent booty-shaker. But nothing here is more compelling than the artistic synergy of Harrison and his protégée. Their exquisite blend of the delicate and the demonstrative proves that, whether it’s hard or soft, love is love.
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http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2005/05/amerie_touch_sony_urban/
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