XII

Given the widespread critical acclaim and commercial success garnered from 2008's retro , it would be understandably tempting for him -- or any musician -- to revisit it wholesale. However, throws a changeup on and comes up with a set of collaborative originals with stellar guests that relies more on modern adult R&B than funk, and more on sophisticated pop than it does on contemporary jazz. He's got real star power on this set; it's a groover that includes everything from club to go-go funk, up- and midtempo R&B, and polished bedroom ballads, and it all holds together seamlessly. The set opens with which features some comedy from in the intro and outro, but more importantly, 's vocals are the centerpiece -- 's piano line quotes liberally from 's classic (he gets a co-write). 's guitar and 's bassline turn it into a monster. Next up is a soulful stepper in with vocals by . Club makes another appearance in with laying down his brand of smooth groove above a killer string arrangement and a lockstep funky backbeat. Nu-soul balladeer sings on the hit single ; with 's guitar playing an excellent counterpoint to his vocal, it is among the standout cuts here. fronts 's band on a midtempo attitude strutter. makes a fine yet minimal vocal appearance on the simmering babymaker compensated for by killer guitar work and the spoken word bit from 's on set closer Of the four instrumental tracks, the most notable are and the transcendently joyful contemporary jazz number co-written by , , and , who also plays on it. While nothing on breaks new ground, one suspects that this wasn't 's intention: he was looking to write and record an album that had "quality" stamped all over it. For its diversity, imagination, and execution, he gets high marks: stands among his best. ~ Thom Jurek