Upon its release, Love Behind the Melody received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim," based on nine reviews.[1]
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the album "a significant improvement over The Love Experience in every respect – somehow displaying an increase in both modesty and ambition, as well as offering a more refined yet bolder set of material. Whether or not DeVaughn goes gold, you can bank on at least a couple major R&B artists going into the studio throughout the remainder of 2008 wanting to come out with something as hot and imaginative as this."[3] Steve Jones form USA Today wrote that DeVaughn's "airy vocals recall vintage R&B stars, while contemporary hip-hop and rock flavors along with artful, insightful lyrics on love and life create an intriguing sound. Over the years, the Washington, D.C., native has built an impressive word-of-mouth reputation with his live shows. Melody should give a broader audience an idea what the talk’s all about."[6]Ebony's Shirley Henderson noted that the album was "laced with strong guitar performances and messages of social consciousness."[7]
In his review for Vibe, Keith Murphy found that "DeVaughn does come to his senses to deliver the type of grown and love-starved balladry he excels at on the alluring "Desire," a slow cut that owes more to the romanticism of Will Downing than today’s lay-and-slay R&B male vocalists [...] Finally, the lover-man is back."[8]The Boston Globe found that "after his 2005 debut, DeVaughn ups the ante with a sprawling effort that works as a showcase for his lush vocals. In an era of studio-created voices, this is a step-back-and-listen-to-him-blow disc."[9]The New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh called DeVaughn "a slow-jam specialist with a mellow voice and a restrained approach." While she dismissed Kenny Dope's contributions to the album as "meandering," she praised DeVaughn for his influences, writing that he "borrows judiciously from Prince, Marvin Gaye and others, relying on his voice to keep the songs on track. Even when he’s promising to “shut the club down," his delivery promises something calmer and sweeter than a wild night out."[10]
Chart performanceEdit
Love Behind the Melody debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling about 45,000 copies in its first week.[11] It also debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[12]
^Vozick-Levinson, Simon (January 18, 2008). . Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
^Joseph, Mike (March 9, 2008). "Raheem Devaughn: Love Behind The Melody". PopMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
^ abJones, Steve (January 14, 2008). "This week's reviews: Mag Fields distort, Ringo returns to the 'hood". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
love, behind, melody, second, studio, album, american, singer, raheem, devaughn, released, january, 2008, through, jive, records, album, preceded, three, singles, woman, customer, text, messages, studio, album, raheem, devaughnreleasedjanuary, 2008length65, 51. Love Behind the Melody is the second studio album by American R amp B singer Raheem DeVaughn It was released on January 15 2008 through Jive Records The album was preceded by three singles Woman Customer and Text Messages Love Behind the MelodyStudio album by Raheem DeVaughnReleasedJanuary 15 2008Length65 51LabelJive ZombaProducerMark Batson Blaq Smurph Carvin amp Ivan Bryan Michael Cox Kenny Dope Gonzalez Kwame One Up Entertainment Jack Splash Scott Storch Chucky ThompsonRaheem DeVaughn chronologyThe Love Experience 2005 Love Behind the Melody 2008 The Love amp War MasterPeace 2010 Singles from Love Behind the Melody Woman Released September 25 2007 Customer Released 2008 Text Messages Released 2008 Contents 1 Critical reception 2 Chart performance 3 Track listing 4 Charts 4 1 Weekly charts 4 2 Year end charts 5 References 6 External linksCritical reception EditProfessional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRatingMetacritic83 100 1 Review scoresSourceRatingAbout com nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 2 Allmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 3 Entertainment WeeklyA 4 PopMatters8 10 5 USA Today nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 Upon its release Love Behind the Melody received rave reviews from music critics At Metacritic which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics the album received an average score of 83 which indicates universal acclaim based on nine reviews 1 AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the album a significant improvement over The Love Experience in every respect somehow displaying an increase in both modesty and ambition as well as offering a more refined yet bolder set of material Whether or not DeVaughn goes gold you can bank on at least a couple major R amp B artists going into the studio throughout the remainder of 2008 wanting to come out with something as hot and imaginative as this 3 Steve Jones form USA Today wrote that DeVaughn s airy vocals recall vintage R amp B stars while contemporary hip hop and rock flavors along with artful insightful lyrics on love and life create an intriguing sound Over the years the Washington D C native has built an impressive word of mouth reputation with his live shows Melody should give a broader audience an idea what the talk s all about 6 Ebony s Shirley Henderson noted that the album was laced with strong guitar performances and messages of social consciousness 7 In his review for Vibe Keith Murphy found that DeVaughn does come to his senses to deliver the type of grown and love starved balladry he excels at on the alluring Desire a slow cut that owes more to the romanticism of Will Downing than today s lay and slay R amp B male vocalists Finally the lover man is back 8 The Boston Globe found that after his 2005 debut DeVaughn ups the ante with a sprawling effort that works as a showcase for his lush vocals In an era of studio created voices this is a step back and listen to him blow disc 9 The New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh called DeVaughn a slow jam specialist with a mellow voice and a restrained approach While she dismissed Kenny Dope s contributions to the album as meandering she praised DeVaughn for his influences writing that he borrows judiciously from Prince Marvin Gaye and others relying on his voice to keep the songs on track Even when he s promising to shut the club down his delivery promises something calmer and sweeter than a wild night out 10 Chart performance EditLove Behind the Melody debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 selling about 45 000 copies in its first week 11 It also debuted atop the Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums chart 12 Track listing EditLove Behind the Melody track listingNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length1 Hello Love Intro Raheem DeVaughnJames PrestonKenny Dope GonzalezGonzalez0 592 Woman DeVaughnCarl Chucky ThompsonThompson4 283 Love Drug DeVaughnScott StorchStorch4 584 Energy featuring Big Boi DeVaughnAntwan PattonStorchStorch3 245 Friday Shut The Club Down featuring Big Boi DeVaughnKwame HollandSmokey RobinsonRonald WhiteKwame3 396 Customer DeVaughnIvan BariasCarvin HagginsJohnnie Smurf SmithKristal OliverCarvin amp Ivan4 057 Mo Better DeVaughnJack SplashSplash7 398 Woman I Desire Interlude featuring Malik Yusef DeVaughnYusefPrestonGonzalezGonzalez2 149 Desire DeVaughnSelan LernerGonzalezGonzalez5 2910 Midnight Interlude DeVaughnPrestonGonzalezGonzalez1 3011 Marathon featuring Floetry DeVaughnNatalie StewartLernerGonzalezGonzalez5 4512 Butterflies DeVaughnMark BatsonBatson3 1013 She s Not You DeVaughnRich SheltonKevin VeneyLoren HillOne Up Entertainment4 1414 Can We Try Again Interlude DeVaughnPrestonGonzalezGonzalez0 5215 Try Again DeVaughnBatsonBatson3 3616 Empty DeVaughnBryan Michael CoxCox4 5017 Four Letter Word DeVaughnCourtney DwightBlaq Smurph4 45Total length 65 51 Deluxe edition bonus tracks 13 No TitleWriter s Producer s Length18 Text Messages DeVaughnB D TerryC LewisClarence WilliamsJerry VinesJohn DavisN BainBig BobCapt n CurtChris Symfonikz3 2319 Customer Remix featuring R Kelly DeVaughnBariasHagginsSmithOliverCarvin amp Ivan4 0120 Rich Girls featuring Too Short DeVaughnTodd ShawBatsonBatson3 3321 Woman music video 3 5622 Interview Reissue bonus tracksNo TitleWriter s Producer s Length18 Text Messages DeVaughnTerryLewisWilliamsVinesDavisBainBig BobCapt n CurtChris Symfonikz3 2319 Customer Remix featuring R Kelly DeVaughnBariasHagginsSmithOliverCarvin amp Ivan4 01Charts EditWeekly charts Edit Weekly chart performance for Love Behind the Melody Chart 2008 Peak positionUS Billboard 200 14 5US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 12 1 Year end charts Edit Year end chart performance for Love Behind the Melody Chart 2008 PositionUS Billboard 200 15 161US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 16 22References Edit a b Critic Reviews for Love Behind the Melody Metacritic Retrieved June 22 2023 Nero Mark Edward Raheem DeVaughn Love Behind the Melody About com Archived from the original on January 29 2008 Retrieved June 22 2023 a b Allmusic review Vozick Levinson Simon January 18 2008 Love Behind the Melody 2008 by Raheem DeVaughn Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on October 4 2012 Retrieved June 22 2023 Joseph Mike March 9 2008 Raheem Devaughn Love Behind The Melody PopMatters Retrieved June 22 2023 a b Jones Steve January 14 2008 This week s reviews Mag Fields distort Ringo returns to the hood USA Today Archived from the original on June 25 2007 Retrieved June 22 2023 Henderson Shirley February 1 2008 So Noted Ebony Retrieved June 22 2023 Murphy Keith January 14 2008 This week s reviews Mag Fields distort Ringo returns to the hood Vibe Archived from the original on May 3 2008 Retrieved June 22 2023 Love Behind the Melody Jive Boston Globe January 22 2008 Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved June 22 2023 Sanneh Kelefa January 18 2008 New CD s 2008 The New York Times Retrieved June 22 2023 Hasty Katie January 23 2008 Keys Still Atop Album Chart In Slow Sales Week Billboard Retrieved June 22 2023 a b Raheem DeVaughn Chart History Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard Retrieved October 21 2020 Love Behind the Melody Deluxe Version by Raheem DeVaughn on iTunes iTunes 15 January 2008 Raheem DeVaughn Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved October 21 2020 Top Billboard 200 Albums Year End 2008 Billboard Retrieved October 21 2020 Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Year End 2008 Billboard Retrieved October 21 2020 External links EditLove Behind the Melody at Metacritic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Love Behind the Melody amp oldid 1171960933, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
