★★★★★
Soul tenor Donell Jones' Where I Wanna Be is a perfect snapshot of US RnB/nu-soul at the turn of the 21st century. It is immaculately produced and delivered with great accomplishment. There is little room for spontaneity or error; it is highly polished soul at its super shiniest. Jones' second album, this release heralded his musical maturity. The Chicago-born producer, guitarist and singer first came to prominence writing for , and 702 in the mid-90s...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2013-04-23
★★★★★
Few in R&B handle the details of duplicity quite like Donell Jones. The Chicago, Illinois singer excels at it, reveling in it in a way that makes R. Kelly's tales of soap opera intrigue seem more pedestrian and oversimplified than usual (and I kind of dig R. Kelly!). He embodies the roughneck sultriness of Jodeci and Jagged Edge but balances it with the more delicate touch of Musiq Soulchild. Vocally, a comparison to Chico DeBarge wouldn't be far-fetched. But seriously...
- www.popmatters.com
2011-03-07
★★★★★
Donell Jones's self-produced sixth album, Lyrics, has a lot to treasure. The signature silky vocals are consistently come-hither, and the subject is so elementarily sex-focused - but rather than a soulless recreation of what he's been doing since late-90s hit U Know What's Up, it's an enticing and still-current LP. Subject-wise, it doesn't stray too far from blush-inducing, unadulterated filth...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2010-12-13
★★★★★
These days, it seems, practically anyone can get a hit, due to a formulaic process that has become routine: one part arrogance, a dash of sex appeal and slivers of Auto-Tune included to turn a mundane track into a mega-selling ringtone or catchy cell phone ad. Songs with subtlety and substance can be few and far between, which is why R&B fans will appreciate Donell Jones' return to the scene with his fifth studio CD, Lyrics. In the four years since the underrated Journey of a Gemini, Mr...
- www.soultracks.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
Two songs on Where I Wanna Be, Donell Jones' second album, tell the listener a great deal about the Chicago based singer's career. With it's street-wise swagger, hip-hop influenced beats and catchy hook, "You Know What's Up," is a song that set the path for the future of R&B music when it dropped in late 1999. The title track is a straightforward love ballad that fused a classic soul lyrical and vocal phrasing with modern production techniques, which made "Where I Wanna Be" a neo-soul song...
- www.soultracks.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
Time to set the mood, dim the lights and bring out the chilled wine because our favourite stateside crooner is back with his third album entitled Life Goes On. The Chicago-bred artist returns laden with more smooth and sexy tales of love and romance. With his charming storytelling style and silky vocal cords, you'd be forgiven for dismissing him as just another ballad singer...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2009-06-12
★★★★★
"You can look like halle/with an ass like J. Lo and a smile like Janet/But that's not enough," croons cocksure Lothario Donell Jones on "Special Girl," his fourth album's leadoff track. The accomplished Chicago songwriter (he penned Usher's first hit, "Think of You") knows to avoid excessive vocal histrionics and let his slow jams shine, but his switch-ups are hit-and-miss...
- www.rollingstone.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
Life Goes On is Chicago-bred singer-songwriter-producer Donnell Jones' third time out of the gate with his honeymoon-croon R&B; and tempered hip-hop. The mostly laid back grooves and oh-so-romantic lyric turns make this definite mood music, and it works -- as long as your mood is pretty fixed...
- www.rollingstone.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
Donell Jones doesn't get as much credit as he deserves. Sure, he's had hits, as a solo artist and as a songwriter and producer, but his records never seem to break out to a wider audience, which is too bad, since they're consistently satisfying. Life Goes On, his third platter, keeps that streak going...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
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