Marques Houston | Famous

Marques Houston | Famous Shanachie Records by Peggy Oliver

Vocalists who have established their niche with their hit-making history rarely feel they need to tamper with success, as long it sustains a win-win situation between themselves and their fans. The truly wise at heart artist is also willing to tweak a few ideas or two in staying relevant with what the current market dictates. Since breaking into the industry with the nineties’ urban boy band sensations, Immature/IMX, Marques Houston has been accustomed in giving the people what they sincerely want. His suave bump and grind slow jams have attracted fans of current R&B/hip-hop romantic stylists like Trey Songz. In over twenty years of a maturation process as a recording artist, Houston continues to be driven in satisfying his fans without forsaking the tools to improve upon what first brought him originally into the musical game. For his
sixth and latest solo effort, Famous, Houston attempts in broadening his vocal horizons by meshing his usual R&B/hip-hop swagger with classic soul snippets.

While several tracks on Famous finds Houston still thriving on his raw trademark R&B flair,
Houston aims for a more mature soulful approach compared to his recent work. Following the lead of many current R&B superstars like Bruno Mars, Houston gives props to Marvin Gaye with “Only You,” drawing heavily from the chorus of “Let’s Get it On.” The first single fares quite well with ”Give Your Love a Try,” a tasty splash of lush sixties soul with today’s R&B mid-tempo grooves and one of the disc’s crisper vocal performances: “I noticed you loving me/So I not going to run no more.” In a curious move for the accompanying video, however, constant references to the Houston’s Batman nickname from Immature flash in between the streetwise video, a bit of overindulgence considering the sophisticated tone being conveyed. An on-point choice for the follow-up single, “Speechless,” is an issue looming inside a lover of how to express the right words: “Cause’ whenever I’m with you I freeze up/Look what you do to me/Your beauty’s got me all bottled up/Cause’ you got me speechless.” The neo-soul dusted, “Take Your Love Away,” presents Houston’s sensitive side about being dedicated through a
frustrating love relationship: “I know it’s hard for you to trust me/Never take your love away/I will be the one to stay.”

With all those pluses, Famous still runs into a major snag when the auto tuned vocal production, too much bumpy bass and tinny synthesizer arrangements interrupt the genuinely lead vocal flow, such is the case with “The Way Love Is” and “See You.” Overall though, Famous proves that Houston is turning his artistry up another notch. As he further progresses in his career, it may be advantageous in toning down his hip-hop machismo image a bit and challenge himself to lean more on less cluttered high-tech production and stronger songwriting without losing touch with his core fan base.

Four out of five stars.

Peggy Oliver
The Urban Music Scene