*** 1/2; TEVIN CAMPBELL; “I’m Ready”; <i> Giant</i>
Few things in pop music are as frustrating as an exceptional voice wasted on substandard material. Such is not the case here. Totally free of filler, this 10-song package contains first-rate songs by Prince, Babyface and Narada Michael Walden.
It’s uncanny the way Campbell sounds like a teen-age version of Prince when he tackles the social commentary of “Uncle Sam” and cryptically asks: “Can I sit upon your bended knee just like the other man? / Didn’t I die in Vietnam and didn’t I march in Birmingham?”
That and the three other songs Prince contributed are the strongest and steamiest on the album. Although his background is heavily church-oriented, Campbell manages to sound comfortable in this racier setting.
Elsewhere on the record, from the romantic invitation of “Can We Talk” to the spiritually introspective “Infant Child,” Campbell never takes a false step. Not bad for one of the best vocalists of his generation.
New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
