Easy on the eyes, honey to the ears and blessed with a vocal range that can go from the dance floor to a devotional, Johnny Gill has been an R&B mainstay now for three decades. Whether he’s crooned alongside Stacy Lattisaw, buttressed the adult era for New Edition or enriched the cool carnality of LSG, his robust baritone is a force that cannot be denied. But given that today’s entertainment market often panders to under 40-ish performers with overt marketing ‘umph’ or sex appeal, Mr. Gill’s dilemma—a steady, if not spectacular presence—is the equivalent of being a big fish in a small pond (not quite old enough for Urban AC, too ‘seasoned’ for heartthrob territory, etc.). Knowing his limits, tweaking them and stretching out here and there – but not a complete transformation – is what Johnny Gill accomplishes on his seventh CD, Game Changer.
Stepping back into the studio with a mix of old and new collaborators (Babyface, Chuck Harmony, Claude Kelly), the Washington DC native pours his vocals across an assortment of mid-tempos, bedtime ballads….(please click here for the full-length review at soultracks.com)
