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Since marketability trumps musicianship these days and image matters more than ability, it’s a frustrating fact that some of the more talented in our midst don’t get all of the shine they deserve, and that’s what’s immediately apparent when one listens to Ruben Studdard. Bestowed with the title of ‘Velvet Teddy Bear’ by soul icon Gladys Knight during the second season of Fox’s American Idol, the then-25-year-old Birmingham native won the title, earned national notoriety and a million-selling debut, thanks to a voice that’s agile enough to convey his gospel roots, classically-styled R&B and modernized urban grooves. Back in the mix after his well-received, yet overlooked 2009 CD, Love Is, the 33-year-old has returned with Letters From Birmingham, a CD that has nothing to do with writing about civil rights atrocities from the inside of a jail cell, but does offer illuminating glimpses into the life-and-death cycle of a relationship (more likely factual than fiction).

Serendipitiously similar to the ‘audio novel’ concept that was Will Downing’s 2010 release Lust, love & Lies, on Letters Mr. Studdard reunites with collaborators Elvis “Blac Elvis” Williams and Harold Lilly, co-writing on three of the twelve tracks and taking listeners through a (usually) cleverly-constructed roller-coaster ride of romance:  “Love Skies” is a jazz-inflected, sweet and silky serenade, flirting in the present and forecasting a warm and bright future ahead, and “Do It Right,” featuring Chrisette Michele, is a saucy uptempo intertwining their warm and winsome vocals about the perils of getting too hot moving too fast: “It ain’t about just blowin’ your mind, there’s nothing wrong with us just taking our time/cuz’ I’ve been down this road that we’re goin’ tonight, and if we gon’ do it we might as well do it right.” The payoff for staying on moral high ground is “Today (Hallelujah!),”  a fluttering, lovestruck salute to the bride that treats Studdard’s fans to his nimble upper register, and yes, the lust is finally consumated in “Twisted Love”: “Girl put your legs under the cover, I’ll put my legs over the sheets/ I’ll hide my arms under the pillow, while you take your arms and wrap around me. Wrapped up tied up, all tangled up. Twisted love, look at us, we’re so twisted in love….. ”

However, mirroring his own broken-quicky marriage, things suddenly fall apart and they no longer share that loving feeling, since he’s checking her chilly attitude (“What’s The Reason”), contemplating infidelity (“Her 4 U”) and finally, accepting the bittersweet conclusion as Ruben moves forward with life with “June 28^th (I’m Single),” taking a lesson from the Book of Usher and melding real life with art without oversharing: “You don’t really wanna fix us but you act like you don’t want to break up. I can’t wait for you to make up your mind/Baby, I’ll miss you, and when I see you in the street, I’ma speak, but it’s official: Ladies, I’m single….”

Like any other union, there are plenty of quirks: “Wear Me,” as glib and slinky and sexy as it is, should’ve injected some of that same confidence and pluckiness into “Turn U Out,” which has an irresistable, greasy and funkdafied feel, but is too laid-back to completely convince. And the two remakes, “ Pure Imagination” and “Rock Wit’cha,” are interesting, but not exactly essential. Still, it won’t keep Letters From Birmingham from reaching—-and regaling—-Ruben Studdard’s loyal fans, and shining a little more light on an artist whose talent has warranted it for awhile. Highly Recommended.

By Melody Charles