Lyfe Jennings, Lyfe 268-192

'I Still Believe' is the new release from the platinum-selling R&B/Soul singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. With his authentic, soulful voice and innovative lyrical ability, Jennings transformed the music world with his 2004 debut '268-192.' The critically acclaimed album has sold over 1.1 million copies in the U.S. to date, providing the necessary vehicle for Lyfe Jennings to stake his claim as a pivotal part of the R&B/Soul movement.

In a lot of musical imaginations, Lyfe Jennings' The Phoenix will occupy a space a few slots up from the Hustle & Flow soundtrack. As he proved on the prelude to this disc--the swift-selling, hype-generating Lyfe 268-192--he's an urban poet with an unsparing eye. When he's not laying out his grit-laden artistic process in what seems like a dozen spoken-word interludes, he's singing it as he sees it. On "S-E-X," that vision includes a sensitive-minded, daddy-like plea for abstinence among teen-age girls punched up by the sexy-sounding Lala Brown, and on the thump-thump slo-mo thrill ride "Ghetto Superman" it includes a pitiful remembrance of things past ("We grew up in the gutter eatin' peanut butter sandwiches/With no jam"). Part Curtis Mayfield, part Donny Hathaway, part Kanye West, and part John Legend, Jennings is determined to offer a long, tall drink to the spiritually dehydrated--he's massively musical (check his gentle acoustic guitar on "Down Here, Up There" and the raw soul of "The River") and enormously ambitious: It's no accident that The Phoenix plays like scuffed-up, 21st-century epic poetry in places. Real-world R&B hasn't reached this far in a long time. --Tammy La Gorce

Welcome to the Playlist series. Painstakingly compiled by the artists and the music nuts at Legacy Recordings, these collections truly represent an artists' complete body of work. We've fished through hundreds-thousands-of tracks to cherry pick the perfect playlists. Not just the hits (anyone can find those). The life changing cuts. The out-of-print tracks. The fan favorites everyone loves. The songs that make the artist who they are.

You’ll no doubt enjoy the sound of the beautifully remastered songs on this CD (as opposed to MP3's that contain less information, which translate into compromised sound). But we think the thing you'll appreciate most about this Playlist is that even though you didn't make it, you might wish you did.

LYFE 268-192 - Dual Format Disk

Welcome to the Playlist series. Painstakingly compiled by the artists and the music nuts at Legacy Recordings, these collections truly represent an artists' complete body of work. We've fished through hundreds-thousands-of tracks to cherry pick the perfect playlists. Not just the hits (anyone can find those). The life changing cuts. The out-of-print tracks. The fan favorites everyone loves. The songs that make the artist who they are.

You’ll no doubt enjoy the sound of the beautifully remastered songs on this CD (as opposed to MP3's that contain less information, which translate into compromised sound). But we think the thing you'll appreciate most about this Playlist is that even though you didn't make it, you might wish you did.

In a lot of musical imaginations, Lyfe Jennings' The Phoenix will occupy a space a few slots up from the Hustle & Flow soundtrack. As he proved on the prelude to this disc--the swift-selling, hype-generating Lyfe 268-192--he's an urban poet with an unsparing eye. When he's not laying out his grit-laden artistic process in what seems like a dozen spoken-word interludes, he's singing it as he sees it. On "S-E-X," that vision includes a sensitive-minded, daddy-like plea for abstinence among teen-age girls punched up by the sexy-sounding Lala Brown, and on the thump-thump slo-mo thrill ride "Ghetto Superman" it includes a pitiful remembrance of things past ("We grew up in the gutter eatin' peanut butter sandwiches/With no jam"). Part Curtis Mayfield, part Donny Hathaway, part Kanye West, and part John Legend, Jennings is determined to offer a long, tall drink to the spiritually dehydrated--he's massively musical (check his gentle acoustic guitar on "Down Here, Up There" and the raw soul of "The River") and enormously ambitious: It's no accident that The Phoenix plays like scuffed-up, 21st-century epic poetry in places. Real-world R&B hasn't reached this far in a long time. --Tammy La Gorce