Epiphany

Minimal
I just thought the album was ok. I know she worked hard on it but it wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be.

Second Verse and In Many Ways Better Than the First....
Very nice work, Ms. Michele. This album starts off strong and even falters a bit toward the middle, but there are plenty of interesting bits along the way before it's all over. I discovered the mature, smoldering soul of Ms. Michele after hearing "If I Had My Way" on the radio and I must say: "I haven't heard soul like that since Regina Belle's 'Baby Come To Me'". I knew I had made a good purchase when my woman ambled into the living room and asked me with a coy smirk to replay "Blame It On Me". "Epiphany (I'm Leaving)" is throughly contemporary and beat heavy, but still able to let real vocals like the ones Ms. Michele possesses to breath freely. Even the obviously Ne-Yo produced "What You Do" which, threatens to get overrun with synth riffs at any moment, is a pleasure to the ears. When I compare this album with her debut I find myself anxious for a third release that displays even more polish and development. Ms. Michele knows how to do more than just hold a note and her voice is pleasantly distinctive, but my greatest fear for her is that over the years she will have to take a backseat to Alicia Keys' "overhyped hip hop/soul by the numbers" stylings and Beyonce Knowles' bubblegum pop/R&B. Either way I wish her luck and I'll be at the record store ready to take another chance on her in the future.

AWESOME, TOP AMERICAN FEMALE ARTIST THAT CAN ACTUALLY SING!
My whole family, especially our three year old daugher who knows every song on this album, and still sings praise and worship. Everyday at least once sometime in the day, this cd can be found playing somewhere in my home or car. This is what real music and singing sounds like, feels like. Everyone of the songs is a story that we all have felt, are feeling, will feel, knows someone who felt that way. Writers, AWESOME, but the voice an the woman told the story, lived the story at least that's what we were made to believe. Tears, I shed some of them too, strengh, I regained that too, peace, I came to understand it's ok to take some time and focus on me, and then my family,and not feel guilty. Ms. Michele, We truly Thank-You for your gift and your sharing it with the world. Keep Keepin on! The Criglers.

Chrisette returns with album #2
I was introduced to Chrisette when I heard the hooks for Nas' "Can't Forget About You" and Jay Z's "Lost One". She did a nice job on both tracks, so I was definitely looking for some material to come out from Chrisette. When I saw the video to "If I Have My Way" on VH1 Soul, I was officially hooked. I was looking forward to her debut release,I Am. From beginning to end, you could listen to Chrisette's debut and my favorite tracks ended up being "If I Have My Way", "Best Of Me", "Your Joy", "In This For You" and "Like A Dream". I saw Chrisette live at the Black Cat in DC and the album sounded even better when she performed the majority of the tracks live. When I first heard the title track and saw the video, I was instantly hooked once again. I was looking forward to the release of her 2nd CD and for the most part, I ended up not being disappointed. The next track that became my instant favorite was "Blame It On Me". On this slow jam, Chrisette is all cried out and she doesn't care how things have to end, she just wants it to be over once and for all. "On My Own" follows a similar path as Chrisette is telling the man that she is involved with that yes we have some good things that are going on in this relationship but there are just certain things that I need to learn without you and at the time it's just better for me to be on my own. "Notebook" has Chrisette feelin' a particular guy, but she keeps the feelings to herself and talks about how she deals with them and what may happen if he ever should find out. "What You Do" features Ne-Yo, who is one of the executive producers of "Epiphany", along with LA Reid. This track explains how you can be careful about what you say around your mate, but you also have to be careful of the actions that you do at the same time. The ladies will definitely be able to relate to tracks such as "Fragile" and "Porcelain Doll". Yes these tracks do show a sense of empowerment but at the same time they also show a sense of vulnerability. "All I Ever Think About" has Chrisette talking about how she feels about a particular man. She understands that there may be problems, but at the end of everything, she just wants to make sure that they can stay together. "I'm Okay" ends "Epiphany" on a good note, as Chrisette talks about how she was hurt by the ending of a relationship that went wrong and also talks about how she is bouncing back with remembering the good times instead of dwelling on the bad times. Overall, I think many of Chrisette's fans will be satisfied with "Epiphany". It's not "I Am", in my opinion because there is definitely an attempt being made to make this an album that will be a pop album. The material and quality is still there, but with Chuck Harmony, of Compound Entertainment, producing 9 of the 12 tracks, things take a similar tone at times. There's nothing wrong with an artist trying something different on an album, but in my opinion, it takes away from the staying power of this album. This is still a CD that should be in your collection, it just won't get as many spins as "I Am" did. James' Top 5 1) Epiphany 2) Blame It On Me 3) On My Own 4) I'm Ok 5) Notebook Honorable Mention: Porcelain Doll All I Ever Think About Fragile Playin' Our Song

Great R&B album
This a good album, r&b album. My favorite song is Porcelain Doll is good woman empowerment song and the other songs are about relationships. It great I can listen to it all the way though, and no cussing which is great. I think this best album I have brought all year.