The Evolution Of Robin Thicke (CD)

Robin Thicke's 2003 effort, "A Beautiful World", proved the artist was quite adept at spinning a lush pop-R&B hybrid in the blue-eyed soul mode. 2006's "The Evolution Of Robin Thicke" steps up the achievements of its predecessor, showcasing tighter songwriting and Thicke's versatile vocals (featuring plenty of the artist's lovely falsetto). There are hard-grooving tunes here, and downtempo tracks as well. Thicke works a nice contemporary R&B vibe by judiciously mixing choice old-school elements (Marvin Gaye is a clear touchstone) with electronic flourishes and hip-hop inflections, so that several tracks on "The Evolution Of Robin Thicke" sound ready-made for radio play. Robin Thicke's sophomore release should be of interest to fans of the new breed of post-millennium R&B stars like Ne-Yo and Jaheim.