Just about the smartest thing Brian McKnight could do in 2006 is collaborate with Tim & Bob, a veteran do-it-all studio duo who have quietly contributed to many of the best and/or most successful R&B tracks -- including Boyz II Men's "Vibin," Sisqó's "Thong Song," and Bobby Valentino's "Slow Down" -- of the past 12 years.
McKnight does exactly that on Ten, an album that features four Tim & Bob collaborations.
Two of the songs rank as high as anything from McKnight's past: "Used to Be My Girl" and "Unhappy Without You," despite reading like bitter pre- and post-breakup laments, carry the nuanced bounce and swagger that held up Valentino's first album, and McKnight is as impassioned as ever.
In the hands of most other male vocalists, the lyrics would probably sound like embittered rants from an insufferable jerk.
It's spry grown folks' R&B.
Apart from these tracks, as well as one collaboration with Brian Cox, McKnight handles all the writing and production.
From this portion of the album, "Shoulda Been Lovin' You" is the standout, an elegant throwback to Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" where seduction is swapped out for regret and self-flagellation, both of which come off as real talk rather than pitiful wallowing.
With 2005's Gemini and this release -- two of his finest albums -- McKnight is on something of a roll.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Used to Be My GirlB.J. Robinson | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 2 | ComfortableKasseem Dean | Brian McKnight | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 3 | Find Myself in YouBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 4 | What's My NameBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:50 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Unhappy Without YouB.J. Robinson | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | A Little Too LateBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:53 | 11 MB | 32 MB |
| 7 | Shoulda Been Lovin' YouBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 05:04 | 11 MB | 33 MB |
| 8 | AgainB.J. Robinson | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:37 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | More and MoreBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 13 MB |
| 10 | Can't Leave You AloneB.J. Robinson | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 11 | I DoBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | The Rest of My LifeBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 13 | Red White and BlueBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight, Rascal Flatts | Play | 04:47 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 14 | Don't Take Your Love AwayBrian McKnight | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:03 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 15 | Holdin' On (Missin' U) | Brian McKnight | Play | 04:39 | 10 MB | 31 MB |
| 65 mins | 150 MB | |||||
| 65 mins | 421 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryan-Michael Cox | Audio Production, Producer |
| 2 | Kevin KD Davis | Mixing |
| 3 | Kasseem Dean | Composer |
| 4 | Kendrick Dean | Producer |
| 5 | Jay DeMarcus | Bass, Piano |
| 6 | Prescott Ellison | Drums |
| 7 | Mark Hagan | Engineer |
| 8 | Christian Lanyru | Photography |
| 9 | Manny Marroquin | Mixing |
| 10 | James Matchack | Keyboard Programming, Loop Programming |
| 11 | Brian McKnight | Audio Production, Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboards, Main Personnel, Musician, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 12 | Bill Meyers | String Arrangements, String Conductor |
| 13 | Sean Neff | Engineer |
| 14 | Charles Paakkari | Engineer |
| 15 | Dave Pensado | Mixing |
| 16 | Neil Pogue | Mixing |
| 17 | Rascal Flatts | Guest Artist, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 18 | Jim Riley | Drums |
| 19 | B.J. Robinson | Composer |
| 20 | Joe Don Rooney | Guitar (Electric) |
| 21 | Greg Ross | Art Direction, Design |
| 22 | Jill Scott | Guest Artist, Main Personnel |
| 23 | Phil Tan | Mixing |
| 24 | Sam Thomas | Engineer |
| 25 | Tim & Bob | Audio Production |
| 26 | Ellen Wakayama | Creative Director |
| 27 | Aaron Walk | Engineer |
| 28 | Chris Wood | Engineer, Vocal Engineer |
| 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). |