Joonie | Acoustic Love
Joonie | Acoustic Soul
By Terrill Hanna
There’s something smooth about the new offering from a kid from around the way – Mr. Calvin “Joonie” Gary Jr. The cat reveals a touching side of soul music for his debut release, “Acoustic Love” and by all means, has grabbed my ab-soul-ute attention.
From independently beating the pavement, working around the likes of numerous R&B singers & artists: Ruben Studdard, Angie Stone…to name a few, Joonie finally brought out what the world of listeners should gain knowledge of: His Musical Talent. Much of his work for ‘Acoustic love’ shines brightly. Whether it be the natural musical R&B influences that paraded around the mindset of Joonie from over the years, one thing is certain, this guy has something special to offer. And this disc has all the ingredients to take him to the very next level.
Track Listing:
~ So Fly
~ Fresh
~ Delilah
~ You Got Me
~ Acoustic Love
~ Love You More
~ Always
~ Just The Way
~ Smile
~ Make It Last
~ Lay It Down
~ Stalker
No doubt about it, the minute you drop this disc into the player, the jam, “So Fly” makes an immediate statement. A statement about the skills in the songwriting & arrangements dept (with some assistance from Kenny Bereal), right on down to his vocal delivery. The lyrics is easily catchy, positive, upbeat & projective. Crooning an admiration for a beautiful honey on his mind flows throughout the track & makes for the official announcement of the album. It only gets better from here soul music lovers!
“Fresh” keeps the flavor of singing a sense of motivation to a ladies heart going, while “Delilah” taps the mind of a young man spinning out of his world, falling deep in love with the lady with the same name. The grooves sticks sequentially in line with each other, track after track. Smooth & mellow. Add “You Got Me” & “Acoustic Love” and before you know it, this continuous mix will now have you hypnotized to Joonie’s overall game & talent.
Ballad “Make It Last” & the sensual “Lay It Down” polishes off a stellar collection of gems that should make it in everyone’s CD wallets & iTunes buyers all over the globe.
I was diggin’ the positive messages each track featured. In fact, some of the song titles simply gave way to the meaning, direction of each song. A great mixture of slow ballads & mid-tempo melodies sprinkled throughout. The productions lean on the ever streamline background essence of the acoustic guitar, a tad bit of cultural influence to some previous D’Angelo – Chico DeBarge harmonies & a great deal of respect given to original contemporary/traditional soul ballads. All honed in to complete perfection from Calvin “Joonie”.
My “Go Get It Pass” is sitting on the counter, down the hall, on the right folks. Pick it up on the way out. Joonie gave me a breath of fresh air with “Acoustic Love” and he just might give you one too. I recommend the project with ease.
Terrill Hanna
The Urban Music Scene