Hopeless Romantic is the fifth studio album by Jon B. Brought up in Rhode Island, Buck was born to a musical family, with his father David a professor of music, his mother Linda, a concert pianist and his siblings Deborah,... more » a violinist and his brother Kevin, a cellist. He first started singing at the age of four, and learned piano and keyboard by nine. By 16, he played bass and drums as well. Because his grandparents owned a record store, Buck was raised on a varied musical diet that included influences like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.« less
Hopeless Romantic is the fifth studio album by Jon B. Brought up in Rhode Island, Buck was born to a musical family, with his father David a professor of music, his mother Linda, a concert pianist and his siblings Deborah, a violinist and his brother Kevin, a cellist. He first started singing at the age of four, and learned piano and keyboard by nine. By 16, he played bass and drums as well. Because his grandparents owned a record store, Buck was raised on a varied musical diet that included influences like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.
"I have been a Jon B since 1995's Bonafide and I was honestly a little worried when I heard about this new album because a lot of artist cannot maintain consistency in music for long periods of time. Jon B though has managed to deliver another consistent album. I can listen to this album straight through which is pretty rare nowadays there are a few tracks that I feel are Jon's attempts to be somewhat modern which he pulls off well but he reaches his peak when he sticks to what he is known for which is his smooth ballads. I have only had the album for a few days but so far I would have to say my favorites are Drops of Rain, and In Too Deep."
Still # 1
Successfool | Charlotte, NC | 10/30/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"In a league of his own, Jon b is now back on track after a hiatus that led to the creation of this masterpiece. Although I have the entire collection of his solo projects, i'm still very particular when it comes to his music because he has so much potential that I still feel he hasn't reached yet. It may help to check out his bio just to familiarize yourself with some of the amazing collaborations he's been a part of.
The way I rate the quality of an album is by listening to each song on repeat for a few times to see if it can grow on me as quickly as possible and with this CD, I actually found myself keeping the songs on random because it's just that good in my opinion.
I just want to say that Jon b makes music like his life depended on it and I am thanking him because folks...this is only the 3rd CD i've purchased in the past 6 years due to inconsistent artists. This time around, I feel my money was well spent. Buy from an artist that truly works hard and is true to his/her craft. You will not regret this purchase.
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Even when he slips into modernity he's the bomb
Scott Woods | Columbus, Ohio United States | 11/16/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Jon B is black music's dirty little secret: this white boy does black music better than almost everybody out now, and he always has. There is no good reason why Jon B doesn't get the props he deserves, and that has always been the case. Jon is five albums deep and we're talking about Robin Thicke like we've never been here before? Like Jon is dead or something? Puh-lease.
Ever the chameleon, the record starts off suspect, giving us the kind of clubby tunes the radio is rife with ("Ooh so sexy", "It's U", complete with vocoder and spacey almost-house beat). Then, abruptly, the record becomes the kind of offering we expect from Jon: solid, contemporary, grown folk R&B that's able to straddle what he knows, what he's capable of, and what's hot right now. The very next track, "Get What U Want", is the best song on the record, and Jon places it perfectly. The rest of the record makes forgiveness of the first couple of tracks possible, since I get that he only needs one contemporary hit to make people look at the whole record. To that I say, go Jon go. I'll let slide a couple of radio tracks to get a song like "Get What U Want" its props.
This record should be all over the radio. Even when Jon slips and goes "nowadays", he apes the style so well it can hold its own with all the stuff that's out. A solid purchase for the fan of Jon B. or the person who likes the stuff on the radio but wishes it were more substantive.
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Best Jon B. cd to date
C. Johnson | Columbus, Ohio | 10/28/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've heard all of the other Jon B. cd's and most of his work is classic so, its hard to pick an album. I have been listening to the album since he posted it on his myspace page. It is a shame he doesn't get more credit. I will be getting the album right after work today. With Jon B and Maxwell(see him in concert its worth it) back hopefully RnB will be back to what it should be."
2-1/2 stars -- I love Jon B, but did we all listen to the sa
Anthony Rupert | Milwaukee, WI | 12/23/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I remember one of my friends was doing a survey sometime last year, and when the subject of music came up, she mentioned some Jon B. songs I never heard of. I asked her if he had a new album out, and she said he did but it wasn't that good. And after listening to Helpless Romantic for myself, I agree.
After Epic Records' lack of promotion for Jon's third (and best) album Pleasures U Like (although it did go gold), he released a greatest hits album so he could get out of his contract, bringing along distributor Edmonds Records Group for the ride. His next proper album was supposed to be on DreamWorks but they went defunct, so Stronger Everyday was released by Sanctuary. Unfortunately, Sanctuary folded too, so now Jon is on his own label, VibeZelect (but Edmonds is nowhere in sight -- by the way, you can tell this album was released independently because of how generic the cover looks). But it doesn't look like Jon has much to offer anymore.
I remember a reviewer for Stronger Everyday gave the album two stars, and while I didn't agree with the rating (I gave it three-and-a-half), I did agree with one thing she said: all Jon ever really talks about is either doin' up a girl or "I saw you standing over there and you were lookin' real good". While Jon really doesn't do any of the latter on here, he spends too much time in sexual territory, and the problem is that the lyrics are incredibly cheesy. There are many examples of this, but "Drops of Rain" and "Part of U" easily come to mind. And it's hard to even tell what he's saying on "Paradise in U".
When Jon changes the subject, it's not much better either. The corniness continues with the title track, where the hook features: "You're the ocean; I'm Titanic/Baby I would sink for you." I get the connection, but the metaphor doesn't make sense. Also, a lot of times the songs sound like they were generically made by people that came out AFTER he did -- for example, his cover of Jeff Buckley's "Everybody Here Wants You" sounds like it came off a Robin Thicke demo tape. And "It's U" sounds like a song Mario passed on.
Jon B can still sing, but this album seems like a phoned-in attempt to stay relevant in the industry (see Paul Wall on "Ooh So Sexy"), especially since he wrote or co-wrote everything as usual (except for the Buckley cover) and I know he's capable of crafting much better songs than this. Sorry, Jon, I'm still a big fan, but Helpless Romantic ain't cuttin' it.