Montell Jordan's fourth album is touted as an audio postcard of his travels to Cuba, Ireland, and Nigeria, among other locales. Unfortunately, the first half of this effort is about as much fun as waiting for luggage after deplaning.
The seven-foot tall singer's trademark blend of R&B and hip-hop falters badly on several uptempo tracks that lack discernible melodies--and, in a few cases (especially the numbing "Why You Wanna Do That"), seem to last twice as long as their allotted four minutes. And "Once Upon A Time," the obligatory Latin music entry, is so obvious it's just annoying.
After that, though, things improve markedly with a clutch of strong ballads, like the warm and welcoming "Cuddle Up" and the sexy, morning-after "Can We Move On." Jordan even shows some range with a powerful (if pointless) cover of Phil Collins's "Against All Odds." Ultimately, however, Jordan's globetrotting would probably play better on the Travel Channel than it does on disc.
All recordings courtesy of Island/Def Soul. ÒGet It On ToniteÓ written by M. Jordan, D. Benbow, A. Wilson, B. Palmer aka Lil Z, S. Moore, J.Evers, J. Korduletsch, courtesy of Montell Jordan Music/Famous Music Corporation/Tobaki, Inc./Levar's Crib Music, Inc./
Chubby Music Publishing (ASCAP)/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI).ÒCanÕt Get EnoughÓ written by M. Jordan, D. Nixon, J. Brim, S. Daniels, courtesy of Montell Jordan Music/Famous Music Corporation/Jazz The Man Music/Pucky Scrub Music (ASCAP)/Dove Daniels Music (BMI). ÒWhy You Wanna Do ThatÓ written by M. Jordan, E. Laues, D. Nixon, courtesy of Montell Jordan Music/Famous Music Corporation/New Nations Music/Jazz The Band Music (ASCAP).
