Good Things - Aloe Blacc
Good Things Image
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 13 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 9 Ratings

  • Summary: The second full-length album for the California-born singer E. Nathaniel Dawkins goes for retro R&B and soul style.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Dec 21, 2010
    91
    Blacc's charismatic blend of gravitas and ease is what humanizes and vivifies Shine Through's ageless appeal.
  2. 80
    Blacc's wise-beyond-his-years tenor, sounding eerily alike a young Bill Withers, perfectly fits I Need A Dollar's dignified mourn. Elsewhere, he skillfully evades mawkishness or trite sentiment on the moving Momma Hold My Hand. [Sep 2010, p.106]
  3. Much of this album, with its gritty street-level reportage of booze-alleviated dereliction and crooked politicians, feel so perfect for right now.
  4. Good Things is sufficiently accomplished, in fact, to at least temporarily banish the clouds of financial doom and gloom to the horizon.

See all 13 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. 9
    Even though he's apparently been around for the past 4-5 years, I had not heard of Aloe Blacc...until I caught the theme to HBO's "How To Make It In America". Being a fan of old 70's soul, I thought that "I Need A Dollar" was unearthed from some lost Bill Withers tapes circa 1972. It was stripped bare, burned with desperation, yet chugged along with so much simplicity....characteristics unheard of with today's R&B. Then I came across his soul cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale" and was blown away at how Blacc had grasped the essence of Philly soul and Gil-Scott Heron style protest anthems. Hey, today's tough economic times call for it, making these songs even more welcome. All of "Good Things" simmers with both a retro vibe and a fresh sound that is nearly unmatched. I am hoping that he continues to move in this same direction as he creates more of his own brand of modern soul. Expand