Released: 1989
It’s 1989 and Barry White was trying to sound contemporary. That means hackneyed New Jack Swing inevitably shows up on this album, but after the messy The Right Night & Barry White (D), The Maestro seemed more assured of himself on The Man Is Back! his second LP for A&M Records.
Importantly, the album reduces the electronic clutter. There is no return to White’s classic symphonic sound (for the most part), but streamlining the production does wonders for even the mediocre and average songs.
The Good/Decent Stuff
Look in the sky. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s funk! “Super Lover” is shackled by the production of the era, but White managed to slip in a funky wah wah guitar and some Latin percussion. I’ll take it.
Even better than “Super Lover” is White’s ode to his hometown. “L.A. My Kinda Place” takes that Latin percussion from the background and puts it front and center. He has all kinds of great lines about freeways, partying, and sports teams. This man is proud of Los Angeles. I wish White had the budget for real horns, but these might actually be real strings on this arrangement.
Okay, so those two songs were both dance music. What about the ballads?
I’m happy to report they are far better than on the preceding album. “When Will I See You Again” is pleasantly mid-tempo’d. “I Wanna Do It Good to Ya” splits the difference, being a ballad and a dance song depending on what mood you’re in. “It's Getting Harder All the Time” and “Don’t Let Go” are built around White’s voice and a tender piano.
The most classically White song is “Love's Interlude/Good Night My Love”, which finds big Barry rapping during the interlude and then singing the standard.
All the slow tunes make for good wine sipping music. After all, every mood and activity needs a music.
The Mediocre Stuff
Thankfully, not too much to report on here.
“Responsible” is that hackneyed New Jack Swing flavor. White manages to not totally embarrass himself even though this song sounds like it stepped out of an episode of The Cosby Show.
A true sign that White had upped his game is that even a song like “Follow That and See (Where It Leads Y'All)” isn’t particularly memorable, but you’re not offended by its presence.
ALBUM SCORE: C+
This album should probably be just a C, but since it quality rarely dips into mediocre (and only briefly so when it does), I’ll bump it up to a soft C+. Other veteran R&B singers made complete fools of themselves in this period trying to sound contemporary.
Hell, White did that himself on the previous album.
But on The Man Is Back! I can see White figuring out how to be himself while also not sounding stuck in the past. Plus this thing is “only” 53 minutes. I still prefer my albums be around 35-45 minutes, but it coulda been worse as the CD age continued its triumphant march of making albums too long.
Now for the commercial side of things!
This album had three singles (all of which bombed), but the LP stayed on the R&B charts for nearly a year (47 weeks) and was rated by Billboard as the 31st best selling R&B album of 1990. People were noticing White was on the rebound…
Song Scores
Responsible: 5/10
Super Lover: 7/10
L.A. My Kinda Place: 7.5/10
Follow That and See (Where It Leads Y'All): 5/10
When Will I See You Again: 7/10
I Wanna Do It Good to Ya: 6/10
It's Getting Harder All the Time: 6/10
Don’t Let Go: 7/10
Love's Interlude/Good Night My Love: 6.5/10