Javier's Left of Center: An Improvement Over His Debut

Javier tried to stake his claim as a "neo-soul crooner with an edge" back in 2003 with his eponymous debut. He was marketed as a neo-soul crooner with Latin roots who played the acoustic guitar and wrote all his own stuff. Now maybe if Lauryn and Jill hadn't already dabbled in the Latin flavor and if India hadn't worn out her acoustic soul, Javier would've been on to something. But since he came to the neo-soul party a few minutes too late, he was quickly lost in the shuffle. And as I stated in my review of Javier, there was no denying that the man is talented. But the only time he proved entertaining is when he slowed down the tempo and let his pain do the talking. Thankfully, his sophomore bid, Left of Center., doesn't carry the same syndrome.

Somehow, Javier bypassed the label politics stating that "no sales = no $$$ = no contract" and convinced Capitol to hold onto him long enough for him to drop a second release. And not an in-house, autonomous release like his debut. This go-round, Javier got assistance from some soul writer/producer A-listers and the end result is a much more fluid, cohesive, and entertaining album.

You're The One kicks the album off to a funky start. With a (non-sampled) funk bassline that would make Sly Stone envious and some cocky yet smooth lyricism, Javier sounds quite natural spitting game to the object of his affection. Singles Indecent Proposal and The Answer Is Yes both prove Javier still knows how to turn a ballad out; the former a heartrending tale of decisions and regret and the latter a tear-jerking ode of devotion sure to unite couples around the globe for many years to come. Dance For Me incorporates Javier's Latin roots into the mix as he spices up the mid-tempo Salsa groove with more smooth vocalizing and seductive lyricism sure to charm any senorita right onto the dance floor. Unoriginal but catchy nonetheless.

Wassup is his most blatant bid for radio play and even it isn't completely sullied by the gimmicky production (DJ scratches, muted handclaps, and cheap synth effects) and vapid lyricism. Poetry gives the album a little edge thanks to the electric guitars and skittering drumline but is almost ruined by Javier's "mack-daddy" lyricism that has him trying to coerce his female companion out of her clothing and into underneath his bed sheets. Try as he might, there is no way he can deny using his comparison of her physique to "poetry" as a slick means of trying to get some. Not that there's anything necessarily wrong with such a motive nor this record; Javier just doesn't give a convincing performance.

Count On Me is Javier's duet with soul vet-in-the-making Anthony Hamilton and is nothing short of a brilliant meld of "soul and sandpaper." Anthony's husky soul playing the counterpart to Javier's silky smoothness is ingenious and given such inspirational subject matter, the duo create an unstoppable, 4:12 force of sheer entertainment. And right there is where the album piques; from Once We Start on down, the album reverts back to that familiar sound of vanilla soul that plagued Javier's debut. While there's nothing terribly wrong with the quartet of songs that close the album, nothing strikes out at the listener and demands replaying. I could break down the tracks individually but at the risk of repeating myself (and my entire review of his debut), I'll spare those details and focus my attention on describing the album's centerpiece.

As shocking as it may sound, the highlight of Left of Center isn't the duet with Anthony nor one of its power ballads. The highlight is a song replete with synth effects, a faux-conga drumline, and a chain-gang foot-stomp for its bassline. A song with a sunny melody, impassioned vocal, and, quite frankly, cliche lyric. A simple song about the predictable effects of infatuation; make sure you crank up the volume for Is It Love and press the repeat button at least a dozen times to get the full effect of the song's powerful statement.

Now it's easy to say that Javier simply copped-out and took the easy route by linking up with prominent producers and recording blatantly catchy, radio-friendly tunes. And that since I'm predisposed to the gimmicky bullsh!t passed off as music that is produced by my generation, I enjoy the album because of its Hip-Hop/Soul flavor. But listening to the album, it's clear that Javier hasn't comprised his artistic integrity.

He's still the same soul crooner with Latin roots (check the "Reggaeton Remix" to his lead single at the end of the album) who plays the acoustic guitar and writes (mostly) all his own stuff. He just learned from the mistakes of his debut and realized that an acoustic guitar, drum machine, sometimes piano, and his vocals alone can't carry every single tune he creates. So he combined forces with his producers to enhance and broaden the scope of his sound instead of simply selling his soul to the ClearChannel Devil (note the lack of thugged-out emcee cameos).

Javier went Left of Center and knocked it out the park.