Craig David: Trust Me
Craig David: sans beard.
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Monday, 12, Nov 2007 02:22
Warner Music, out now.
In a nutshell...
Smooth, groovy, unadventurous, solid R 'n' B
What's it all about?
Trust Me is the fourth studio album from 26-year-old Craig Ashley David. He hit the big-time aged just 19 with 2000's Born To Do It, which spawned the mega-hits Rewind, Fill Me In and Seven Days. The album went on to sell more than seven million copies and garnered some interest in the US. Slicker Than Your Average and The Story Goes, the singer's second and third offerings respectively, failed to match this success. Two years since his last release, David's lost the curls, beanie, goatee and boyish frame, but has he changed his sound?
Who's it by
Born in Hampshire to a Grenadian father and Jewish-English mother, David's first recording was a b-side for British R&B group Damage. He writes nearly all of his own songs and has a reputation as something of a playboy. However, he remains strongly associated with the rubber-faced caricature created by Leigh Francis for the woefully unfunny sketch show Bo' Selecta!
As an example...
"I was waiting for your love, but you can only wait so long/I was hoping and praying you would see what was going on/Now we're standing here with open hearts/And I'm chained inside my world" - Awkward
"So hot she'll have you begging for more/And even hotter when her Victoria's Secrets drop to the floor.Hot like Elle, hot like getting down with Gisele/What the hell, hot like sex back at the hotel" - She's On Fire
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Since Born To Do It peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Top 200, David has endured the familiar British artist's struggle to make an impact stateside. The chances of this album bucking that trend are remote, but Trust Me could feasibly garner a few nominations on this side of the pond.
What the others say
"The key to Trust Me's immediate appeal lies in the charming powers of David, who uses all eleven tracks to pull you in like a man possessed... With an album that's a cert to be lavished with awards come 2008, it seems like Craig really was born to do it after all." - Tom Young, BBC Music
"A decidedly flat album, on which David's undoubted vocal skills float by without much purpose through unremarkable tunes." - Mark Edwards, Times
So is it any good?
This is a disappointing record - which is a backhanded compliment as well as a criticism.
Things do not begin auspiciously, with the messy concoction of sounds that is Hot Stuff (Let's Dance), which is interspersed with snatches of mildly whiney soulfulness which can only sound self-parodic after Bo' Selecta.
6 0f 1 Thing is just as frenetic. Far from dance, I wanted to lie down. However, there is no questioning the man's talent as his vocals evolve seamlessly from silky R 'n' B to reggae. These opening tracks are as experimental as Rise and Fall, David's brilliant collaboration with Sting, and they fail because of their production and arrangement rather than any lack of talent.
The album picks up with the perky Friday Night. There is a nice Timberlake-esque falsetto, which reappears on Awkward, a slow-burning ballad that belies its name and shows how David has developed as an artist since his Born to Do It days. However, his reference to "hustlers" on the streets sounds vaguely ridiculous next to the self-censored swearing.
Awkward features a fantastic turn from newcomer Rita Ora, a 17-year-old discovered by the album's producer Martin Terefe. Another collaboration, This is the Girl, pairs our Craig with grime star Kano, and recalls Rewind with the pleasing blend of hip-hop and silky harmonies.
Everything else is R 'n' B-by-numbers: perfectly pleasant and resolutely uninspiring. However, banal lyrics and unimaginative production are consistently elevated by the quality of David's voice. While not incredible, it is extremely and consistently strong.
Vocally, he is on par with the Trousersnake. And with a better team behind him and a clearer sense of musical direction, he could be just as good. Slicker than the average, certainly, but still not quite fulfilling the expectations raised by his remarkable debut.
7/10
Meghan Graham