Anthony Hamilton's 2008 album, The Point of It All, left me kind of cold, despite there being nothing at all really wrong with it (and "Charlene" is still a straight up classic, after all). But I feel like in the last couple years I've loved a lot of albums by male R&B singers who kind of mix a traditionalist bent with a creative, modern approach (Robin Thicke, Raphael Saadiq, etc.), so it seemed like I was primed to give Hamilton another chance with his new Back To Love. I'm thinking maybe I just don't like this guy that much beyond his undeniably singular and appealing voice, though.

My favorite song on Back To Love is, unsurprisingly, the very atypical "Never Let Go," a duet with Keri Hilson featuring the sproingy synth drums of Ciara's "Promise." Babyface's three songwriting contributions on the abum, though, are very good, especially "Pray For Me," and make me kind of forgive 'Face for subjecting us to "Best Thing I Never Had" last year. But Back To Love is the kind of pleasant album that would seem a lot better than it is if it managed to avoid having any duds, and unfortunately the garish uptempo retro of "Sucka For You" just gives me a huge negative reaction right in the middle of the album that kind of torpedoes the whole thing in my esteem. The very schmaltzy adult contemporary "Who's Loving You," which I oddly kind of love, helps save the album's batting average a little bit and spice things up, but it's just not enough.

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