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Like most of its predecessors, R. Kelly's eleventh album is stuffed to the gills, with 18-plus songs clocking in at 76 minutes (or longer, depending on which bonus track[s] your edition includes.) And if Double Up is, inevitably, far from flawless, the level of novelty and listenability Kelly manages to sustain for that duration is quite a feat. It makes this his best full-length in years -- arguably his best of the decade -- especially when you consider that its high points -- most notably the singles "I'm a Flirt [Remix]" and "Same Girl" -- rank among the licentious Chicagoan's very finest. Yes, Kelly's familiar, almost cartoonishly overstated brand of sex-obsessed misogyny is as rampant here as his increasingly eccentric humor -- more so than ever, on both counts. So if you're not of a disposition to stomach the 40-year-old (whose still-pending child pornography trial was set to commence several months after the album's release, before being delayed yet again) boasting about his plot to seduce a pair of "freaky" first cousins for a ménage à trois (in the title track), or warning listeners to steer their girlfriends clear of his restlessly prowling libido (in "Flirt": "the moral of this story is 'cuff your chick'"), this could be a painfully long and humorless listen, or worse. But cut the man a little slack, at least on record -- or allow him the indulgence of his already comically blatant perversity (at least he doesn't present himself as someone who expects to be taken very seriously) and it's either an absurd explosion of standard R&B tropes (nightclub bangers, baby-makin' slow jams, overwrought breakup songs) or simply a treasure trove of questionable-taste comedy gold. Actually, those aforementioned scenarios are just the tip of the iceberg, strictly routine in comparison to extended X-rated metaphors -- in the vein of "In the Kitchen" or "Ignition" (the original, not the remix) -- involving jungle animals (the brilliantly nutty, if somewhat misleadingly titled "The Zoo"), dessert ("Sweet Tooth"), and interstellar travel ("Sex Planet"), or hammy, convoluted mini-epics like "Same Girl," the one-sided argument "Real Talk," and the multi-player melodrama "Best Friend" (the closest this album comes to the preposterous serialized histrionics of the apparently endless "Trapped in the Closet" saga.) Subject matter aside (lets not even get into the incongruously inspirational Virginia Tech paean "Rise Up"), there's no denying that Kells is in top form production-wise. His occasional attempts at trend-jumping have somewhat mixed results -- the turgid metal guitars of "Rock Star," featuring Kid Rock; the menacing Southern-style synths of "Rollin'"; the fine but innocuous Caribbean-tinged "Freaky in the Club" -- though it doesn't help that these are also the album's least inspired moments conceptually and melodically. On the other hand, he cops 2007's production gimmick du jour, vocodered R&B vocals (à la T-Pain), to excellent effect on "Leave Your Name," a hilarious slice of lifestyle-boasting-as-overly-detailed-voice mail-message. But when he sticks to his somehow perennially fresh style of lush, laid-back, semi-organic, mid-tempo grooves, he's both unmistakable and untouchable. Even the album's parade of A-list guest stars (among them Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Chamillionaire, T.I., Ludacris, and Keyshia Cole), though it does help to keep things interesting, never threatens to overshadow the musical and vocal smoothness, and perversely compelling lyricism of the main event.
© K. Ross Hoffman /TiVo
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The Runners, Programmer - The Runners, Producer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - A. Harr, Composer - A. Harr, Lyricist - Montez Roberts, 2nd Engineer - R. Kelly Featuring Swizz Beatz, Performer - Jason Mlodzinski, 2nd Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, 2nd Engineer - Larry Gold, Arranger - J. Jackson, Lyricist - J. Jackson, Composer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Andy Gallas, Engineer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Producer - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - John Stahl, 2nd Engineer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - K. Cates, Composer - K. Cates, Lyricist - C. Bereal, Composer - C. Bereal, Lyricist - C. Broadus, Composer - C. Broadus, Lyricist - Khao, Producer - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - N. Stewart, Composer - N. Stewart, Lyricist - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Dave Aron, Engineer - R. Kelly featuring Snoop Dogg, Performer - K. Bereal, Composer - K. Bereal, Lyricist - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Producer - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - C.X. Brockman, Composer - C.X. Brockman, Lyricist - C. Keys, Composer - C. Keys, Lyricist
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Edwards, Engineer - R. Kelly featuring Nelly, Performer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - C. Haynes, Composer - C. Haynes, Lyricist
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - S. Vynnytsky, Composer - S. Vynnytsky, Lyricist - H. Seriki, Composer - H. Seriki, Lyricist - John Hanes, Engineer - Mysto & Pizzi, Producer - Jeff Meeks, 2nd Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - M. Joseph, Composer - M. Joseph, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Aaron Dahl, Engineer - R. Kelly featuring Chamillionaire, Performer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Dylan Ely, Programmer - Dylan Ely, Engineer - Donnie Lyle, Keyboards - Bigg Makk, Keyboards - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, 2nd Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Patrick Hayes, Guitar
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
John Hanes, Engineer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Donnie Lyle, Drum Programmer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - Dylan Ely, Programmer - Dylan Ely, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Jason Mlodzinski, 2nd Engineer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - John Hanes, Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Nathan Wheeler, 2nd Engineer - Nathan Wheeler, Programmer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Kendall Nesbitt, Keyboards - Steve Bearsley, 2nd Engineer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Faheem Najm, Composer - Faheem Najm, Lyricist - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - S. Moss, Composer - S. Moss, Lyricist - Teddy Penderazdoun, Engineer - Lil Ronnie, Producer - ELLIOT CARTER, Engineer - C. J. Harris, Composer - C. J. Harris, Lyricist - James "Scrappy" Stassen, Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Edwards, Engineer - R. Jackson, Composer - R. Jackson, Lyricist - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly featuring T.I. & T-Pain, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Producer - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Re-Mixer - Herb Powers, Mastering Engineer
(P) 2007 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Dru Castro, Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - J. Jackson, Composer - J. Jackson, Lyricist - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - J. Smith, Composer - J. Smith, Lyricist - R. Kelly duet with Usher, Performer - Jeff Edwards, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - Lil' Ronnie, Producer
(P) 2007 RCA Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Montez Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Programmer - Larry Gold, Arranger - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Rodney East, Keyboards - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - John Stahl, 2nd Engineer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
R. Kelly featruring Huey, Performer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly featuring Huey, Performer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - L. Franks Jr, Composer - L. Franks Jr, Lyricist - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Edwards, Engineer - R. Jackson, Composer - R. Jackson, Lyricist - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Joel Fairstein, Engineer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Lil' Ronnie, Producer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - Joshua Monroy, Engineer - C. Bridges, Composer - C. Bridges, Lyricist - Bigg Makk, Guitar - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Programmer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - R. Kelly featuring Ludacris and Kid Rock, Performer - Rodney East, Keyboards - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Al Sutton, Engineer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Warren Bletcher, 2nd Engineer - Patrick Hayes, Guitar - Robert "Big Brizz" Brisbane, Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Pedro J. Quintana Jr.,, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Chestek, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - John Stahl, 2nd Engineer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - R. Kelly featuring Keyshia Cole and Polow Da Don, Performer - Larry Gold, Arranger - Bigg Makk, Keyboards - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Programmer - Christopher Carmouche, Engineer - John Hanes, Engineer - Montez Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
John Hanes, Engineer - Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Bigg Makk, Programmer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Jeff Edwards, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Big Mac, Drum Programmer - Bigg Makk, Acoustic Bass - Bigg Makk, Keyboards - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Programmer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Rodney East, Keyboards - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Patrick Hayes, Guitar
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Dylan Ely, Engineer - Dylan Ely, Programmer - Sheri Hauk, Vocal - Bigg Makk, Keyboards - Bigg Makk, Programmer - John Hanes, Engineer - Larry Gold, Arranger - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Patrick Hayes, Guitar
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Dylan Ely, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Donnie Lyle, Programmer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - Donnie Lyle, Acoustic Bass - Bigg Makk, Acoustic Bass - Bigg Makk, Keyboards - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Edwards, Engineer - Nathan Wheeler, Programmer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - Andy Gallas, Engineer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Patrick Hayes, Guitar - Kendall Nesbitt, Keyboards - Steve Bearsley, 2nd Engineer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Serban Ghenea, Mixing Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Programmer - Donnie Lyle, Guitar - Bigg Makk, Acoustic Bass - Bigg Makk, Keyboards - John Hanes, Engineer - Jeff Meeks, 2nd Engineer - Tim Roberts, 2nd Engineer - Luis Tovar, 2nd Engineer - Jeff Edwards, 2nd Engineer - Ian Mereness, Engineer - Ian Mereness, Programmer - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer - R. Kelly, Producer - Patrick Hayes, Guitar
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
T. Nash, Composer - T. Nash, Lyricist - Abel Garibaldi, Engineer - Abel Garibaldi, Mixing Engineer - Jason Perry, Keyboards - W. Hodge, Composer - W. Hodge, Lyricist - DJ Polow, Producer - Jeff Meeks, 2nd Engineer - Willy Will, Producer - Polow Da Don, Producer - J.Jones, Composer - J.Jones, Lyricist - Mike O'Brien, Guitar - Mike O'Brien, Acoustic Bass - R. Kelly, Performer - R. Kelly, Producer - R. Kelly, Composer - R. Kelly, Lyricist - R. Kelly, Arranger - R. Kelly, Mixing Engineer
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording, LLC
Album review
Like most of its predecessors, R. Kelly's eleventh album is stuffed to the gills, with 18-plus songs clocking in at 76 minutes (or longer, depending on which bonus track[s] your edition includes.) And if Double Up is, inevitably, far from flawless, the level of novelty and listenability Kelly manages to sustain for that duration is quite a feat. It makes this his best full-length in years -- arguably his best of the decade -- especially when you consider that its high points -- most notably the singles "I'm a Flirt [Remix]" and "Same Girl" -- rank among the licentious Chicagoan's very finest. Yes, Kelly's familiar, almost cartoonishly overstated brand of sex-obsessed misogyny is as rampant here as his increasingly eccentric humor -- more so than ever, on both counts. So if you're not of a disposition to stomach the 40-year-old (whose still-pending child pornography trial was set to commence several months after the album's release, before being delayed yet again) boasting about his plot to seduce a pair of "freaky" first cousins for a ménage à trois (in the title track), or warning listeners to steer their girlfriends clear of his restlessly prowling libido (in "Flirt": "the moral of this story is 'cuff your chick'"), this could be a painfully long and humorless listen, or worse. But cut the man a little slack, at least on record -- or allow him the indulgence of his already comically blatant perversity (at least he doesn't present himself as someone who expects to be taken very seriously) and it's either an absurd explosion of standard R&B tropes (nightclub bangers, baby-makin' slow jams, overwrought breakup songs) or simply a treasure trove of questionable-taste comedy gold. Actually, those aforementioned scenarios are just the tip of the iceberg, strictly routine in comparison to extended X-rated metaphors -- in the vein of "In the Kitchen" or "Ignition" (the original, not the remix) -- involving jungle animals (the brilliantly nutty, if somewhat misleadingly titled "The Zoo"), dessert ("Sweet Tooth"), and interstellar travel ("Sex Planet"), or hammy, convoluted mini-epics like "Same Girl," the one-sided argument "Real Talk," and the multi-player melodrama "Best Friend" (the closest this album comes to the preposterous serialized histrionics of the apparently endless "Trapped in the Closet" saga.) Subject matter aside (lets not even get into the incongruously inspirational Virginia Tech paean "Rise Up"), there's no denying that Kells is in top form production-wise. His occasional attempts at trend-jumping have somewhat mixed results -- the turgid metal guitars of "Rock Star," featuring Kid Rock; the menacing Southern-style synths of "Rollin'"; the fine but innocuous Caribbean-tinged "Freaky in the Club" -- though it doesn't help that these are also the album's least inspired moments conceptually and melodically. On the other hand, he cops 2007's production gimmick du jour, vocodered R&B vocals (à la T-Pain), to excellent effect on "Leave Your Name," a hilarious slice of lifestyle-boasting-as-overly-detailed-voice mail-message. But when he sticks to his somehow perennially fresh style of lush, laid-back, semi-organic, mid-tempo grooves, he's both unmistakable and untouchable. Even the album's parade of A-list guest stars (among them Snoop Dogg, Nelly, Chamillionaire, T.I., Ludacris, and Keyshia Cole), though it does help to keep things interesting, never threatens to overshadow the musical and vocal smoothness, and perversely compelling lyricism of the main event.
© K. Ross Hoffman /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 19 track(s)
- Total length: 01:16:10
- Main artists: R. Kelly
- Composer: R. Kelly
- Label: Jive
- Genre: Soul/Funk/R&B R&B
(P) 2007 Zomba Recording LLC
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