Human (CD - 2008)

Personnel: Brandy Norwood (vocals, background vocals); Toby Gad (guitar, programming); Daniel Groover (guitar); Jim Sitterly (violin); Red One (piano, programming, background vocals); Adam Messinger (piano); Jens Gad (drums); Kee (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Manny Marroquin; Rodney Jerkins; Toby Gad.

Audio Remasterer: Brian Gardner .

Recording information: 2nd Floor Studios, Los Angeles, CA; Henson Recording Studios, Hollywood, CA; New York, NY; Strawberrybee Production, New York, NY; The Boom Boom Room, Burbank, CA; The Ravenite Social Club, Los Angeles, CA; Venice, CA.

Photographer: Michael Brandt.

Arranger: Toby Gad.

Though she initially gained fame as an actress, this multi-talented Mississippian launched a lucrative second career as a pop-savvy R&B songstress that brought her fame and success at a pace that easily outstripped her success on screen. Her early records, NEVER SAY NEVER and FULL MOON, cast her as a middle-of-the-road teen icon, but her 2008 release, HUMAN, trades in the more aggressive hip-hop-inflected R&B sounds of her 2004 outing, AFRODISIAC, which featured contributions from such luminaries as Kanye West and Timbaland. Though HUMAN sports a higher percentage of slow-burning retro-soul ballads than its immediate predecessor, former collaborator Timbaland and longtime producer Rodney Jerkins give HUMAN a carefully considered modern R&B sound that should please Brandy's fan base and relative newcomers alike.

Human's release marked the longest wait between Brandy albums, if only by a few months, and it's easy to understand why. After Afrodisiac's June 2004 release, Brandy dropped her manager, left Atlantic, broke off an engagement, was a judge on America's Got Talent, got into a car accident that caused the death of a driver, and signed with Epic (possibly in that order). Issued a few months prior to facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the husband of the woman who died in the accident, Human is easily the most platitudinal Brandy album, but it is no less compelling for it, even when blocking out the complicated context of the singer's personal life. Renewing her alliance with Rodney Jerkins, whose production and co-songwriting work dominate the album's first half, Brandy is clearly in a comfort zone that enables her to open up more than ever. This is demonstrated from the beginning, in "The Definition," where she declares a clean slate with trembling resilience. Through most other voices, optimistic "everyone together now" songs like "Warm It Up (With Love)" and soul-searching adult contemporary ballads like "Human" and "Fall" (written with Natasha Bedingfield) would wilt, but there's no denying Brandy's unforced sincerity. Nothing here will get any party started; Human is nothing if not a serious album, not to mention the least enjoyable release in Brandy's catalog. But it could very well be her most useful one. ~ Andy Kellman minimize