"We 'bout to make it hot for the summer, baby!," proclaims Missy Elliott at the beginning of Incomparable lead single "I Deserve It," which was officially released in late August.
It was evidently intended for earlier impact, reached none of Billboard's charts, and didn't exactly scorch anyway.
While those signs were all bad, Faith Evans' sixth proper album, which followed three months later, comfortably surpasses everything she released after 2005's The First Lady.
Perhaps due to a combination of her reality television work, maturity, and the establishment of her own label, Evans sounds freer and more direct than ever, whether she's dealing with interpersonal or intrapersonal matters.
The downside to that confidence and creative control is that the songs often sound disjointed from one another.
These 16 cuts are more like a playlist of mostly good-to-great selections than a focused album; an '80s throwback trails a '60s throwback, and later, a traditional gospel-soul testimonial leads into a slick synthesizer groove.
Scattered as it is, the album offers a lot to like.
Best of all is the title track, produced by Brian Alexander Morgan -- right, the one who was behind SWV's "Weak" -- which rubberizes D Train's electro-funk classic "You're the One for Me" and is just as effective as Evans' past nods to Chic and the Jones Girls.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prelude/Thank You GoodnightGharah Degeddingseze, Faith Evans, Steve Russell Harts, Shanell Irving, LaKeisha Lewis, Tonyatta Martinez, Jimmy "Gittum" Rodgers | Faith Evans | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 2 | ExtraordinaryMike City, Toni Coleman, Achaia Dixon, Faith Evans, Camille Hooper, Ben Briggs III, Jaila Simms | Faith Evans | Play | 03:28 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | I Deserve ItToni Coleman, Achaia Dixon, Missy Elliott, Faith Evans, Chyna Griffin, Sharaya Howell, Andre "AJ" Johnson, Weldin Ervine Jr., Nina Simone, Carl Thompson | Faith Evans | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | FragileToni Coleman, Achaia Dixon, Faith Evans, Ben Briggs III, John Phillips, Michelle Phillips, Jaila Simms, Carl Thompson | Faith Evans | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | IncomparableToni Coleman, Faith Evans, Ben Briggs III, Hubert Eaves III, Brian Alexander Morgan, Jaila Simms, James Williams | Faith Evans | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 6 | Ride the Beat (Interlude)Toni Coleman, Faith Evans, Ben Briggs III, Jaila Simms, Carl Thompson | Faith Evans | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 7 | Good TimeToni Coleman, Achaia Dixon, Lamar Edwards, Faith Evans, Ben Briggs III, Jason Martin, Jaila Simms | Faith Evans | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 8 | ForeverJeffrey "Jazz" Brown, Raven Chambers, Faith Evans, Sydney-Michelle Harvey, Ben Briggs III, Rufus Moore, Jaila Simms | Faith Evans | Play | 04:09 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | ParadiseMike City, Faith Evans, Ben Briggs III, LaTrelle Simmons, Jaila Simms, Anthony Williams | Faith Evans | Play | 03:43 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 10 | Thank You's/OutroJeffrey "Jazz" Brown, Raven Chambers, Toni Coleman, Faith Evans, Ben Briggs III, Jaila Simms, Joe Wilson | Faith Evans | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 37 MB |
| 11 | MaybeFaith Evans, Chyna Griffin, Ben Briggs III | Faith Evans | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 12 | Take Your Time (Interlude) | Faith Evans | Play | 02:37 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 13 | Make Love | Faith Evans, Keke Wyatt | Play | 06:47 | 15 MB | 48 MB |
| 14 | Ever Go Away | Faith Evans | Play | 02:03 | 4 MB | 13 MB |
| 15 | He Is | Faith Evans | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 25 MB |
| 59 mins | 137 MB | |||||
| 59 mins | 407 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matt Anthony | Assistant Engineer |
| 2 | Janell Barakat | Photography |
| 3 | Jeff Bradshaw | Trombone |
| 4 | Ben Briggs III | Composer, Drums, Engineer, Producer |
| 5 | Patrick "Devinaire" Briggs | Keyboards |
| 6 | Jeffrey "Jazz" Brown | Bass, Composer, Producer |
| 7 | Raven Chambers | Composer, Guitar |
| 8 | April Chanyang | Violin |
| 9 | Mike City | Composer, Producer |
| 10 | Jason Clark | Design |
| 11 | Karen Clark-Sheard | Featured Artist |
| 12 | Toni Coleman | Composer |
| 13 | Remy Converse | Viola |
| 14 | Michael Cox, Jr. | Composer |
| 15 | Kevin KD Davis | Mixing |
| 16 | Gharah Degeddingseze | Composer, Producer |
| 17 | Achaia Dixon | Composer |
| 18 | Hubert Eaves III | Composer |
| 19 | Lamar Edwards | Composer |
| 20 | Lamar "Mars" Edwards | Producer, Programming |
| 21 | Missy Elliott | Composer, Featured Artist, Vocal Engineer |
| 22 | Keenen Ephraim | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 23 | Weldin Ervine Jr. | Composer |
| 24 | Faith Evans | A&R, Composer, Concept, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Cheryl Flowers-Briggs | A&R, Associate Executive Producer |
| 26 | Garnett Flynn | Engineer |
| 27 | The Futuristiks | Producer |
| 28 | Geoff Gibbs | Engineer |
| 29 | Alex Granelli | Assistant Engineer |
| 30 | Chyna Griffin | Composer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background) |
| 31 | John Groover | Composer |
| 32 | Steve Russell Harts | Composer, Producer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocal Producer |
| 33 | Sydney-Michelle Harvey | Composer, Vocal Arrangement |
| 34 | Darren Henson | Composer, Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer, Tracking |
| 35 | Camille Hooper | Composer |
| 36 | Sharaya Howell | Composer |
| 37 | Shanell Irving | Composer |
| 38 | Sharaya J | Featured Artist |
| 39 | Andre "AJ" Johnson | Composer, Producer |
| 40 | LaKeisha Lewis | Composer |
| 41 | Corey "Knotch" Marks | Composer |
| 42 | Jason Martin | Composer |
| 43 | Tonyatta Martinez | Composer |
| 44 | Lester Mendoza | Assistant Engineer |
| 45 | Rufus Moore | Composer |
| 46 | Brian Alexander Morgan | Composer, Producer |
| 47 | Jairus Mozee | Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 48 | Rebekah Muhammad | Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 49 | Devin Norris | String Arrangements |
| 50 | Keith Pelzer | Composer, Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer, Tracking |
| 51 | Juan Peña | Assistant Engineer |
| 52 | Jamie Peters | Assistant Engineer |
| 53 | Michael Peterson | Assistant Engineer |
| 54 | John Phillips | Composer |
| 55 | Michelle Phillips | Composer |
| 56 | Luke "Profit" Plas | Engineer |
| 57 | Herb Powers | Mastering |
| 58 | Problem | Featured Artist |
| 59 | Problem | Featured Artist |
| 60 | Akelee Relliford | Composer |
| 61 | Jimmy "Gittum" Rodgers | Composer, Producer |
| 62 | Matthew Sang | Violin |
| 63 | Skip Saylor | Assistant Engineer |
| 64 | LaTrelle Simmons | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 65 | Jaila Simms | Composer, Concept, Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 66 | Nina Simone | Composer |
| 67 | B. Slade | Featured Artist |
| 68 | Christopher Stevens | Trumpet |
| 69 | Jazmine Sullivan | Composer, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background) |
| 70 | Carl Thompson | Composer |
| 71 | Chucky Thompson | Instrumentation, Producer |
| 72 | Tito Trujillo | Engineer |
| 73 | Nyke Van Wyk | Violin |
| 74 | Anthony Williams | Composer |
| 75 | James Williams | Composer |
| 76 | Joe Wilson | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 77 | Joe "Flip" Wilson | Organ |
| 78 | Kevin Wilson | Engineer |
| 79 | Mark Wong | Cello |
| 80 | Keke Wyatt | Composer, Featured Artist |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |