One sign of a great album is when its last track is as stimulating as its first track. "Body Rock" ends Lorenzo Ferguson's second album for the
Foreign Exchange label with eight minutes of heavenly, faultlessly crafted quiet storm. Thirty-eight minutes earlier, at the beginning, there's the deeply contrasting "The Train," a blissful machine-soul jam where Ferguson displays mastery of the synthetic and the organic. Those highlights feature two of
Sy Smith's sweetest and best vocal performances, and they surround a high quantity of strong songs. Make that stronger songs: while
ManMade has much in common with 2010's fine
SunStorm, this particular set of relaxed and mature R&B is a little more complex and nuanced, yet the instant appeal remains. As with Ferguson's previous album, the moods here are predominantly romantic and relentlessly positive, even when it briefly confronts the pressures expressed by
Phonte in "Out in the World."
ManMade features some of the same collaborators, including not just
Smith and frequent background and foreground presence
Phonte, but also
Carlitta Durand and
Eric Roberson, the latter of whom leads the sophisticated twilight funk of "We Are on the Move." Whether the leads are supplied by labelmate
Jeanne Jolly, the higher profile
Anthony David, up-and-comers Gwen Bunn and 1-O.A.K., or underexposed veterans like
Choklate and
Carmen Rodgers, the album maintains an easy elegance and never derails. For all the help he receives, this is Ferguson's show. On each track, he's credited with either "all instruments" or "all other instruments," which means that he played everything but some flute, horns, and percussion.
ManMade is a complete work -- his best creation yet. ~ Andy Kellman