Personnel: Raheem DeVaughn (vocals, background vocals); Selan Lerner (various instruments, keyboards); J. Splash, Bryan M. Cox, Ivan "Orthodox" Barias, James Preston (various instruments); Barry Zito, Calvin "Tubb Young" Frazier, Kevin Veney (guitar); Alfredo de la Fe (strings); David Moyer (tenor saxophone); Danny T. Levin (trumpet); Mark Batson (piano, keyboards, bass guitar, drum programming); Loren Hill, Johnnie "Smurf" Smith (keyboards); Herb Middleton (bass guitar); Dennis Chambers (drums); Richard Shelton (drum programming); Kristal "Tytewriter" Oliver (background vocals); Plantlife & The Love Life Orchestra.
Additional personnel: Floetry, Malik Yusef, Big Boi.
Neo Soul crooner Raheem DeVaughn lists his home as "Loveland, United States" on his MySpace page, and there's little evidence on "The Love Behind the Melody" to suggest he would live anywhere else. With a light, airy voice that caresses the songs without rubbing them the wrong way, DeVaughn slinks his way through smooth, neo-classical jams as if he was born for it. "Mo Better" updates intimate '70s Philly soul with a string-dripping intro and brushes of keyboard, while "Women" sprinkles a slightly tougher beat onto the standby ode to the fairer sex. But while some of DeVaughn's contemporaries get low lyrically, he keeps it strictly class, focusing on woman's brains and strength. DeVaughn clearly paid attention to every soul disciple from Stevie to Luther to Prince, but he's got a silky voice all his own.
"The R&B Hippie Neo-Soul Rock Star" -- wait, isn't that Cody ChesnuTT? Or is that Van Hunt? Erykah Badu? Regardless, that's what Raheem DeVaughn is calling himself, and it's likely a catch phrase intended to gain some more of the attention the singer deserves. Despite reaching the Top Ten of the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, 2005's The Love Experience didn't crack the Top 40 of the Billboard 200, and none of its excellent singles (including "Guess Who Loves You More" and "You") came near the Top 30 of any chart. By word of mouth and persistent rotation on "grown folks"-type R&B video programs, DeVaughn gradually developed enough of a following -- including vocal admirer Alicia Keys -- to make his follow-up a rather anticipated release. DeVaughn's new nickname is just one part of a subtly aggressive attempt at attaining further commercial appeal: Scott Storch, Chucky Thompson, Orthodox & Ransum, Kwamé, and Bryan-Michael Cox are all brought onboard to give Love Behind the Melody more of a mainstream R&B radio sound without making it seem like a blind stab at sales. Even "Customer," with its gently twisting, lullaby-like resemblance to J. Holiday's "Bed," and the anthemic "Woman" (an extension of "You"'s proud pro-woman theme, nominated for a Grammy prior to the album's release), are not likely to dismay those who are opposed to modern pop/R&B. What's more, both songs are convincingly "honor and do for you" in a selfless way, a major aspect that separates DeVaughn from nearly all of his contemporaries on the radio. In fact, as a whole, the album is much more "You're great" than "I'm great." Even the tracks that act more as mood pieces, such as "Desire" ("It feels so damn good to be used") and "Marathon" ("You make all my daydreams come true"), are full of gratitude, and they are destined to be slotted into many modern quiet storm playlists, leaving immediate and lasting impressions. This is a significant improvement over The Love Experience in every respect -- somehow displaying an increase in both modesty and ambition, as well as offering a more refined yet bolder set of material. Whether or not DeVaughn goes gold, you can bank on at least a couple major R&B artists going into the studio throughout the remainder of 2008 wanting to come out with something as hot and imaginative as this. ~ Andy Kellman minimize