Emotional

the take

Apparently, Carl Thomas' debut album "Emotional" is considered an "essential" R&B album people should listen to. All I really know about this is the lead single "I Wish" being in heavy rotation on "106 & Park" and BET in general all throughout 2000 and maybe early 2001. This album is good, but I don't see this as an essential listen, and that's coming from someone who grew up around this time and vividly remember what R&B sounded like at the time. I will point out I love the interesting sample choices used throughout this album, with the title track and "Giving You All My Love". The familiarity increased my chances of enjoying tracks like those slightly. Overall, though, the beats on here fits with Carl Thomas' vibe more often than not. And the singer himself? His vocals are top-tier and even with at-times super-simplistic songwriting, he ends up making each track work out to his advantage. My problem with "Emotional"? Aside from "I Wish" and "Giving You All My Love", the album is filled with tracks that are simply good but nothing too amazing that stands out from the rest. It even gets to the point where I could consider some songs to be filler, like "You Ain't Right" and "Summer Rain". Even still, "Emotional" is a good debut by Carl Thomas. And though I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else, I still definitely see the appeal and praise this project has received all these years.