Sometimes it’s good to hear from an old girlfriend. However, when she’s only got one thing to say, you get an experience as unsatisfactory and confusing as R&B songstress Tweet’s new album, It’s Me Again.
- Music Reviews
- “Bring me the head of Missy!” (Courtesy of Atlantic)
The follow-up to her heralded 2002 debut “Southern Hummingbird,” where producing legend Timbaland gave Tweet the hit single “Oops (Oh My)” and Missy Elliott took the young singer under her metaphorical wing, Tweet returns to the studio with 15 tracks of smooth R&B melodies, seven of which were produced by Elliott. Sadly, Elliott’s contribution don’t go further than a handful of whiny tracks.
Tweet tries to follow the standard of R&B singers who mourn their love life, but somehow she gets lost along the well beaten path. The album is filled with hackneyed lines: “I’m moving on, making a new start / I’ll make it / I will live my life and surely it won’t be with you.” Tweet covers everything from the initial spark to breaking up and to the emotional growth that comes out of it, with all the Lifetime Channel frills in between.
One highlight of the album is “Iceberg,” which begins with a soft Spanish guitar scale and melts into a smooth but simple drum and bass beat. Tweet cries out her frustration, “Love from my family / Close without my frees / They said you were no good for me / But I didn’t listen.”
“Things I Don’t Mean” features a sad rap from Elliot, and the male manifesto “Sports, Sex and Food” features the bafflingly blunt hook, “If you gotta know the way, I’ll show you / Pay attention you need to know how to / Hook up a meal / Learn a new move / The way to his heart is sports, sex and food.”
The occasional track like “You” and “Steer” showcases Tweet’s strong voice and impressive vocal range. These feats alone, however, don’t save the album from the pitfalls of mediocrity, Tweet still simply sounds like she is whining about her problems.
“When I Need A Man” is a shameless cross-promotion tool to celebrate USA Network’s remake of the 1970’s television show “Kojak.” This tacked on bonus track splits in tone from the rest of the album and gives Telly Savalas a reason to roll in his grave.
Though Tweet’s talent is shown in bits and pieces in It’s Me Again, she leaves the album with only a feeble tweet of her considerable potential.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars