Fans of all degrees love McKnight for his unapologetic approach to love songs, but purists were also drawn to the artist for his mixed bag of musical style, which included gospel, jazz and R&B. On his debut CD the R&B singer cut out all of the junk in music and took it back to basics, his voice and a piano. He also stirred things up by offering a musical smorgasbord of jazz, acapella vocals and contemporary gospel. McKnight has always been at his best when he stays true to those origins.
At issue isn’t the quality of the music included on the project or the success which each track amassed, but whether or not the CD showcases the full talent range of an artist that has never really gotten his due as one of music’s greatest balladeers. In listening to “From There,” some may ask, where is “Never Felt This Way,” the ultimate B-Mac love song which McKnight sang as a guest star on 90’s hit comedy, Martin? “My Prayer,” McKnight’s hopefully optimistic and achingly sweet ode to his son’s future? “Is The Feeling Gone,” a McKnight purebred, featuring background vocals from Take 6 and heavily laced with acoustic piano and heartfelt lyrics, that seem to pour directly from the artist’s soul? Sultry, ballad “Your Love is Ooh,” jazzy, toe-tap inducing “Must Be Love,” the touching tribute to his wife, “Marilee,” sexy, “You Got The Bomb,” or “Every time We Say Goodbye,” the up-tempo, beat-thumping love song with a twist.
All due respect to Motown, who had to choose a small number of tracks from a vast collection of great music, but “From There To Here” represents only one side of the multi-faceted McKnight, the mainstream faves. The artist is indeed a hit maker, but he’s first and foremost a musician and songwriter, with true depth and scale. As a musical retrospective, “From There” would have been the time to showcase McKnight’s diversity beyond his commercial success.
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