When done correctly, a ballad can be a song that makes an album. The best ballads are those that are subtle yet listenable, leaning heavy on the melody and drawing you in with an emotional connection. If you truly feel a ballad, it hits you right in the stomach and takes you to places that you may not want to go but are necessary to heal, learn, and reflect. They may be missing from today's radio scene for the most part, but ballads are an integral part of a musician's life and very rarely does one survive without them.
That being said, not all ballads are created equal. For every one that really packs a wallop (either through personal experiences or sheer magnitude of awesomeness), there are 100 that are plastic, empty, and insincere. For the most part, Kem Owens, Motown Records recording artist, sticks with the first type described, though less consistently on Intimacy: Album III. First single Why Would You Stay far outpaces the rest of the album as it has the type of complex vocal performance and penetrating sincerity that sticks with you, two traits that are absent on the other nine cuts. Adopting a bit more piano and lush strings, it's got a fully realized backdrop for Kem to break your heart on; it walks a pretty thin line between being lyrically regretful and cuckolded, mature and stodgy, but ultimately his vocal is convincing, textured, and the only time he really impresses on the album. A Mother's Love gets props for breaking up the subject matter a little bit, but it's a little boring and lyrically cliché (I hate songs that are general - I would have much preferred him to write about his mother). The sparse piano-only arrangement suits actually allows him some vocal breathing room, but he waits until about 85% of the song is over before getting out of this half-sang conversational tone that he uses for a good chunk of the album. That turns this from a presumably genuine song to a monotone snooze; it doesn't help that the only background music he gets sounds like music being played on the Weather Channel. If It's Love actually has a little bit of a groove to it and some additional vocals from Maurissa Rose that inject some life into the proceedings. Instead of sounding like a pale imitation of 70s soul, it's a slightly more authentic take on the genre, packed with fairly good vocal chemistry and a pretty universal theme. Kem's production choices make such a difference in terms of how his albums sound; this sounds like something he would sing, but he has actual presence here and the shimmery keyboards serve more as backdrop instead of as a guiding force on the record.
When I'm Loving You has some of the most laughable lyrical imagery that I've heard in quite a long time. With talk of loving on angel wings, morning rain, dreams come true, Santa Claus, carpet rides, rainbows, fairytales, and everything else you can imagine, it is the definition of saccharine, corny soul music. I had to laugh the first listen, as it sounds like a parody from some really bad Chris Rock movie that made $3.28 at the box office. It doesn't help that the production is this neutered, overly sanitized blend that removes any sort of personality, soul, or groove that the song might have had. Awful. Golden Days attempts to inject a little scatting into the mix, but it comes off too forced, especially since the song itself doesn't really sound very jazz-y. I would have been fine with Kem attempting a jazz track, but jazz this is not, considering the references to love raining from the stars, bandits, and flowers. To make matters worse, there's a jarring Jill Scott spoken word cameo that does nothing but drive home how poor the quality of this track is. If she had joined Kem on a true vocal duet, it could have been pretty stupendous, but Scott's delivery is overexaggerated and aren't that in synch with the rest of the song. Another wasted opportunity. Human Touch is about as sexual as Kem gets and you know what? It's easily the second best track here, at least in terms of overall vibe. The subject matter makes his whispery delivery a little more understandable, while the production actually has some steam to it and it sounds like the jazz song that Golden Days wishes it was. While there are some lyrically ridiculous moments (a garden full of pillows? Really?) and the length is obnoxious beyond belief (almost 6 minutes), it has enough going for it that it's worth a listen.
This album just depresses me. I was truly excited for Kem to come back after a 5 year hiatus and bestow some class onto my album collection; I enjoyed his first two releases and continuously sought out news on the progress of Intimacy. Instead of being some romantic quiet storm music with incredible vocals, this is a flaccid, self-indulgent collection of songs with mostly laughable lyrics and nothing really interesting to keep you listening. I knew this would be a mostly ballad/midtempo album, but you can make a ballad-heavy album without it being a good alternative to Benadryl. The vocal runs that he would have in past songs are mostly gone, replaced by this whispery tone that could have worked had the material been a little more interesting. He's never been a lyrical maestro, but Kem's voice has managed to save a lot of songs in his catalog. Here? Not so much.
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