Search - Will Downing :: All the Man You Need

Will !, Will !, Will !

Tony_Tone | Washington, D.C., District of Columbia United Stat | 07/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a long time fan of one of the most underrated vocalists in music today i was excited to hear that he was releasing a new album now with his 8th album.. Maybe Will Downing will get the recognition this man so right deserves.. His new album All The Man You Need is simply superb it's kinda of an departure from his previous work where he mixes jazz with r&b overtones.. This effort is more on the r&b side .. Will is just showing another side to him on this effort it doesnt matter if he's doing the more jazz oriented material or r&b .. This man is still turning out good quality music among the highlights on an terrific CD Summer Day, One of the most incredible duets in a while his duet with Chante Moore on the tune When You Need Me. If you like his duet he had with Rachel Ferrell you will certainly love this one.. Everytime It's Rain, All The Man You Need, Share My World , Tired Melody this tune finds Will going back to his Jazz / r&b roots all these tunes mentioned are GREAT! .. If you are a truly a Will Downing fan you will add this to your collection.. Will keep doing what you doing brotha turned out good quality music"

Too Smooth!!

Just Another Way | Chicago, IL United States by way of Houston, TX. | 08/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Will Downing is one of the more underrated singers in the industry. I think this cd has more R&B appeal than some of his previous albums. At first I did not really care for this cd it leaned too much into a Joe or Gerald Levet realm for me. I thought if I want to hear Joe or Gerald then that's what I will play. I always liked Will for his mellow jazzy sound, but after I listened to it for the second time I was hooked. I especially like the song "When you Need Me" with Chante Moore, and "Evertime it Rains" is my favorite song on the whole cd. Also other tracks that stand out are "Real Soon", "Grandma's Hands", and "Love of My Life". So even though this cd has more R&B than his previous cd's it is still the Will that we all know and love. This cd is smoooooooth!"

Extremely classy.

Torquemada | Atlanta, Georgia USA / Madrid, Spain. | 08/22/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Will Downing is one of my favourite vocalists. I had the chance tom see him live a year ago at the Civic Centre (Atlanta), together with Gerald Albright, Phil Perry and Vesta, and this man isn't fake (he did a fantastic version of Marvin Gaye's "you sure love to ball"). I was really in ecstasy at the end of the show. When I knew his new CD was coming out, I got it almost immediately. The impression I get from it is that it is very very classy, as almost always with this man. True that compareed to his previous release, this is less jazzy, but don't forget that "Invitation only" was also a tribute to Art Porter. "All the man you need" will fully satisfy those who are looking for an album with a voice that caresses you from the beginning to the end (the title track or "thinking about you" are good examples of what I call S-S-S, Smooth-Sharp-Sexy). Most people seem to like the duet with Chante Moore, though I must say it doesn't capture me that much, probably because his duet with Rachelle Ferrell was much more explosive (even the duet with Bridgette Williams on the day of the concert mentioned above was more electric). Making his own version of "Grandma's Hands" (remember Bill Withers' ?) is a strong challenge Will takes with success (I insist, that is NOT easy).Having said this, the only negative thing I can say about this cd is that it should have a bit more tempo, like "Tired melody", or "Share my world", an extraordinary tune. I would not like to see Will get locked exclusively into slow jams in his future albums, and become sort of a crooner before time. In the meantime we will continue to enjoy the albums of this unique vocalist."