Ayo – Joyful
Interscope Records (11/20/07)
Jazz / Soul
I was very excited to receive my first reviewing assignment. I anxiously tore open the package and placed the CD into the player as I was driving home from my P.O. Box. Upon hearing the first few notes flow from my speakers, I actually got kind of excited; the first track, “Down on My Knees”, gives the impression that Ayo is a new, sultry voice with a complex style. Right away, I started to think of other artists she kind of reminded me of—Sinéad O’Connor, Des’ree, Sade, Edie Brickell and maybe even a little Erykah Badu. Those are some pretty impressive names with which to be sidled up, so I was expecting to be impressed with the rest of the album. “Down on My Knees” is a simple reggae-styled piece with a repetitive hook, but as her sweet, sultry voice crescendos to a desperate plea, you can feel her angst as she sings, “Down on my knees / I’m begging you, please / Please don’t leave me.”
I noticed that this first track has actually been released as the first single from the album. I must say, it’s good they chose this track, because Ayo might have a fighting chance this way. The rest of the album is not exceptionally interesting. In fact, Joyful is a bit of a sad beginning. Ayo has this sweet voice that seems timid, and it almost seems that she’s playing it safe—there’s not a lot of range to her vocals, or to the music that backs her up. It isn’t until the very last track on the album, “Neva Been”, that it really feels like Ayo is giving it her all. The vocal and production quality on this track seem the most genuine, and you can actually see Ayo’s potential. The rest of the album is just kind of good background music.
“Help Is Coming” is pretty good, but it’s just another reggae-styled song. As the Red Stripe radio commercial comically suggests, all reggae songs pretty much sound alike. They all have the same laid-back groove that you can’t help but bob your head to, but they’re all pretty similar. A few of the tracks sound like a band you would hear at a resort in the Caribbean. Although this might be good while sitting in a tiki bar with a piña colada in hand and the sound of waves rushing the sand in the distance, it’s kind of lackluster while driving the expressway on a gloomy day in Chicago.
In the end, Joyful lacks complexity. While Ayo’s voice has glimmers of promise, the music and production value are kind of dull. However, I will say that after listening to the CD several times, some of the other songs did start to grow on me. It’s not a bad album; it’s just not a great album. Ayo has a pretty voice. I just think she might be able to do a lot more with it.
Rating:
