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A definitive work of sorts since he's at the top of his game as both a craftsman and conman.
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Kelly has an uncanny ability to mix retro sounds with tasty dollops of contemporary seasoning.
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BlenderThese records are too dramatic, too personal and, well, too much. [Oct 2004, p.110]
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U Saved Me's songs of praise like "Leap of Faith" and "Prayer Change" can be taken in two ways: attempts at redemption for what you've just heard or hollow attempts at album sales.
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Entertainment WeeklyThe problem separating sinner and salvation seeker into two albums becomes apparent as U Saved Me gets bogged down in one indistinct, syrup-doused ballad after another. [20/27 Aug 2004] [avg. of B+ for Happy People, B- for U Saved Me]
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Happy People [is] a featherweight collection of midtempo, Marvin Gaye-influenced tunes... The sacred material on U Saved Me, by contrast, is more exciting--and troubling.
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Charming, unpretentious and effortless, the singer presides over a party whose pace never flags and whose soul is fun-loving and wholesome. [22 Aug 2004]
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The first disc finds Kelly honing his already well developed skills at creating effortless dance hooks, but on the second disc Kelly seems to be trapped in staid evangelical idioms and drowning in itchy church choir robes.
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Where Happy People only exercises Kelly's technique, U Saved Me adds some heart.
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The mood for both is, in a word, joyous.
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An album that makes Up With People sound like Joy Division, Happy People embraces an ecstatic brand of cheerfulness so far removed from the realities of everyday life that it creates a kind of altered state.
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The Happy People side, inspired by the Chicago steppin' scene, shows why [Kelly] is still a contender.
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There's something rather unambitious about this set.
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Uncut[Happy People] is a cunning, crackling, can't-keep-still classic. [Nov 2004, p.120]
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Happy People is, if this is possible, the smoothest and frothiest album of the year. U Saved Me is chicken soup for the soul man. Its born-again ballads are fundamentally frothy, in their heavy-handed, gospel-tinged way.
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His productivity isn't exuberance, it's greed; his PG rating isn't scruples, it's cowardice.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 11 out of 15
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Mixed: 0 out of 15
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Negative: 4 out of 15
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AbelMOct 11, 2004
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ssSep 1, 2004out of this world.its wrong 4 one man to have so much talent
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CrystalinGAug 30, 2004