Country Cool R&B?

I'm no fan of Country music - one of the few genres I've never taken to. But lately, country is finding its way into, hold your breath, both R&B and Hip-Hop. While Hip-Hop heads jump to rapper Nelly's successful "Country Grammar," R&B's http://www.calvin-richardson.com Calvin Richardson's is experiencing much lower-key recognition on urban contemporary stations.

Born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Richardson hails from roots very similar to members of Jodeci, who not surprisingly, are childhood friends of the artist. Unfortunately the similarities end at their friendship and love of music - Jodeci went on to a successful singing career, while Richardson is more or less stuck in R&B obscurity. The questions are, does Richardson deserve a chance within R&B and can he compete?

Well, Calvin Richardson has a decent voice, nothing terribly unique about it, but he's as talented as most artists on the scene today. Richardson released "Country Boy" in 1999 after a very short stint with R&B group, Undercover. But the CD may as well be brand new - it's gotten very little airplay and the average listener is probably still wondering who I'm even talking about.

Bottom line, Country Boy is worth a listen. And for being "new" on the scene, Richardson already has some good connections as evidenced by some of the guest artists on the album - K-Ci Hailey, Chico DeBarge and Monifah. "I'll Take Her," featuring K-Ci Hailey formerly of Jodeci, is soulful, reminiscent of Al Green, it complements Hailey's voice well. However, Richardson's voice is somewhat lost, almost making him a guest on his own track.

"True Love" features Chico DeBarge and brings to mind "The Little Drummer Boy" meets rhythm and blues. But it's actually a nice song. The drums play over the soft sounds of the keyboard and the gentle strumming of a guitar. On this track, Richardson realized that a guest artist shouldn't overshadow the featured artist, because Chico mainly adds to the background vocals.

Richardson's duet with Monifah, "Close My Eyes" is a nice love ballad and the two complement each other well. Fans of Monifah will hear her sound come through crystal clear. This deserves some airplay and I'm surprised none of the stations have it on their playlists - as far as R&B love songs go, this is as enjoyable as any of them. The shining star on this CD is "Half The Time," Richardson's ode to the ups and downs of relationships. A classic R&B slow jam, so far "Half The Time" is the only track that has made it onto the airwaves. Another nice cut is "Nightmare (Her love)," which was apparently recorded live.

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