Well while I’m waiting for Ciao to put up a section for another artist I requested, I noticed that there were no reviews for Joe’s fourth album entitled Better Days. So I thought I’d fill in the time by adding my own opinion. Now Joe is just one of those artists that you can listen to forever and never tire of. Well that’s the case for me especially with his last album. If you’re new to Joe and his style then the best of his works I could recommend to you would have to be on his third album (released a couple of years back now) My Name Is Joe. So before I get back to the point of reviewing his current album I’ll attempt to sum up Joe’s particular style of music just as a little introduction and background. (Bear with me I’ll get to the point in a bit!) Joe has a unique blend of soul and RnB which often reminds me of the style of Tyrese and R Kelly but his tunes are easier to listen to. He is definitely a favourite with the ladies and has a sensual and sexy voice to match. He is well known for his romantic tracks and his lyrics show that Joe certainly knows how to treat a lady. Oh and did I mention this guy has the most sensual voice ever?!!
Ok so on to the album review.
Track listing is as follows:
1. Let's Stay Home Tonight 2. Better Days 3. What If A Woman 4. Alone 5. Isn't This The World 6. Ghetto Child ft Shaggy & The Boys Choir of Harlem. 7. I Like Sexy Girls 8. Here She Comes 9. Lover's Prayer 10. Changed Man 11. I Understand 12. She Used 2 Luv Me 13. World Of Girls 14. Let's Stay Home Tonight Remix Ft. Petey Pablo
The album shows a much more mature Joe who is singing about wider social issues than his normal romancing- the-ladies kind of song. He steps forward and sings about issues like teenage pregnancies and young mothers going it alone in the album titled track “Better Days”.
He then goes on to challenge men in general and if they could cope if the roles of men and women were reversed in “What If A Woman” – one of my personal faves on this album!
Joe also talks about the ghetto children and life in the ghetto in collaboration with Shaggy and The Boys Choir of Harlem.
"I Understand" is another fave of mine in which Joe is on about wife battering and encouraging victims "..to walk away before it gets too late." A touching track.
These tracks show us Joe’s diversity as an artist.
However, not wanting to disappoint, there are also some classic Joe tracks on the album like the first track “Lets Stay Home Tonight.” (Another personal fave). This track is basically about lovers spending time together with NO interruptions and a snippet of the lyrics are: “…Wanna spend some quality time, I’m talking no phones, no friends, no business, I sent the kids to your mama’s.." Try playing this track when you want to get the message across….LOL. The album includes a remix to this track with label mate Petey Pablo an upcoming new Hip-Hop artist. I like this remix. It sounds like a completely different track! If you thought the above was straight to the point then you haven’t heard nothing yet! This is a “naughtier” version of the original, which is much funkier and the tune sticks in your head – well it did in mine! Some of the lyrics pages on the net omitted some of the words so I decided if you really want to know then go listen to this track yourself or you can search for the lyrics. Now imagine the response if you played this one to get your message across?? ; )
Another classic Joe track on this album would have to be “Lovers Prayer” which I have to say is just simply beautiful. To give you the gist of this track take a look at some of the lyrics: “…I pray that our love is more than enough to weather the storm. I pray that you're strong the nights that I'm gone and you're home alone…”
Joe gets reflective on us and recognises his frailties in tracks like Alone, Changed Man and She Used 2 Luv Me. All these refer to his recent relationship break up. Out of these tracks I like the catchy tune of “She Used 2 Luv Me” and “Alone”.
“Isn’t This The World” talks about the conscience of the world and is very appropriate for current state of affairs around the world. A look at the lyrics shows us its appropriateness: "..What we gotta do me and you we have to change our selfish ways no matter who else does, we have to rise rise above come together in love."
Other tracks on this album are “I like sexy girls” which is a pretty upbeat and chirpy track which will get you bobbing your head and toe tapping at least.
“World of Girls” is a smooth laid back track with an alright tune in which he talks about his travels and all the girls.
The first time I heard “Here she comes” I was laughing at the lyrics. It’s certainly a very different sounding track in that the beat and the music are very catchy.
Overall we see a lot of experimentation from Joe in this album. His best works are undoubtedly “All That I am” and “My Name Is Joe” – His two earlier albums. I have read a few reviews that don’t give Joe much respect for this effort yet it has to be said he deserves respect for being bold and experimenting. He addresses topics that other artists are walking away from and he does it beautifully as in I understand, the touching Ghetto Child and Better Days. Out of 5 stars I would rate this album at 4.5 stars. An album strictly for women, for lovin’ and the variety of tracks mean that you can listen to this album any time of the day!
Samples of these tracks and selected tracks off his previous albums can be heard on Joe’s official website: http://www.joescrib.com or http://www.xs4all.nl/~mroyen/joe01.htm
Lyrics taken from: http://www.lyricscafe.com/j/joe/037.htm
This album can be brought from music stores like HMV, Virgin, etc. or if you would prefer an online purchase I would recommend the following website which will deliver it to your door for only £8.99 postage and packaging included.
http://www.cdwow.com
Hope you enjoyed the review and that it was helpful and informative. Thank you for reading. : )
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