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Portable Sounds [Deluxe Edition]

 
Album Review: Portable Sounds [Deluxe Edition]

  • Artist: Tobymac
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: February 20, 2007
  • Genre: Gospel

Review

Take this any way you want, but the fact is that Tobymac is pretty much the Justin Timberlake of the Christian pop set. A refugee from a successful boy band, he is jaw-droppingly talented, with a gift for both butt-kickingly funky grooves and irresistible hooks. Like Timberlake, he also knows how to distribute his hooks, doling them out carefully so as to keep your attention focused; he also possesses the admirable ability to work in a wide variety of styles without ever sounding like a panderer or a dilettante. On his third solo album, he opens with the fun and funky "One World," then settles into a pretty neo-soul groove on "Made to Love" before jumping into a rock-ish hip-hop mode on "Boomin'," and then lapsing into straight-up rock & roll on "I'm for You." Every one of those tracks feels perfectly natural -- though he does sound a bit too much like a Sting imitator during the reggae interlude near the end of "Made to Love." "Ignition" and the embarrassingly titled "Feelin' So Fly" both invoke the glory days of '70s soul. Almost everything here rises to an almost amazing level of musical quality and pure pop joy; the only flies in the ointment are the between-song sketches (please, someone pass a law against between-song sketches) and the obligatory track featuring his son, TruDog -- who seems like a genuinely nice and even talented kid, but whose appearances on his dad's records are just too cloying to be enjoyable to anyone outside the family. Highly recommended overall. [CMG issued a deluxe edition in 2007.] ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Tracks



CD 1

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
One World (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, Cary Barlowe Siti Monroe, tobyMac (3:50)
Made to Love (Lyrics) Jamie Moore, Toby McKeehan, Aaron Rice, Cary Barlowe tobyMac (3:50)
Boomin'/Opera Trip Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (4:02)
I'm for You (Lyrics) Cary Barlowe, Aaron Rice, Toby McKeehan, Jamie Moore tobyMac (3:47)
Face of the Earth/Chuck @ Artist Development (Lyrics) Christopher Stevens, Joe Weber, Toby McKeehan tobyMac (4:38)
No Ordinary Love (Lyrics) Dave Wyatt, Toby McKeehan tobyMac, Nirva Dorsaint-Ready (3:16)
Ignition (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Trevor McNevan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (3:53)
Hype Man (Trudog '07) tobyMac (1:41)
Suddenly (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, Joe Weber tobyMac (3:40)
All In (Letting Go)/Mr. Talkbox Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (4:33)
Feelin' So Fly (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan tobyMac (3:49)
No Signal (Lyrics) tobyMac (1:11)
Lose My Soul/Afterparty Christopher Stevens, Toby McKeehan, Michael Ripoll tobyMac, Kirk Franklin, Mandisa (6:17)


CD 2

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Boomin' [DVD][*] Christopher Stevens, Toby McKeehan tobyMac
Gone [DVD][*] tobyMac
Irene [DVD][*] tobyMac
Get This Party Started [DVD][*] tobyMac
Extreme Days [DVD][*] tobyMac
[Bonus Materials] [DVD] [*]

Credits

Christopher Stevens (Organ (Hammond)), David Angell (Strings), Gabriel Patillo (Performer), Gabriel Patillo (Beatbox), Tony Morra (Drums), John Catchings (Strings), Kevin B. Hipp (Assembly), Joe Weber (Guitar), Paul Moak (Guitar), Christopher Stevens (Engineer), Jamie Moore (Programming), Toby McKeehan (Programming), Kevin B. Hipp (Mastering), Kevin B. Hipp (Digital Editing), Dennis Davidson (Strings), Seth Ready (Vocals (Background)), David Dobson (Photography), Christopher Stevens (Mixing), Kene "Ghost" Bell (Performer), Brent Milligan (Bass), Javier SolĂ­s (Percussion), Ric Robbins (Turntables), Nate Yetton (A&R), Christopher Stevens (Producer), Chad Howat (Assistant Engineer), Christopher Stevens (Vocals (Background)), Kene "Ghost" Bell (Programming), Christopher Stevens (Guitar), Calvin Nowell (Vocals (Background)), Brad O'Donnell (A&R), Christopher Stevens (Bass), Gabriel Patillo (Vocals (Background)), Siti Monroe (Vocals (Background)), Michael Ripoll (Guitar), Justin York (Guitar), Christopher Stevens (Programming), Toby McKeehan (Producer), Jason Eskridge (Vocals (Background)), Paul Moak (Engineer), Christopher Stevens (Drums), Kristin Wilkinson (Strings), George Marino (Mastering), Jan Cook (Creative Director), Steve Lotz (Assistant), Tim Rosenau (Guitar), Brent Milligan (Performer), Will Sayles (Drums), Roy Agee (Horn), Mark Douthit (Horn), Donald Lee Woods (Vocals (Background)), Mike Haynes (Horn), Tony Lucido (Bass), Christopher Stevens (Performer), Gabriel Patillo (Assistant), Marcelo Pennell (Engineer), Trevor McNevan (Guitar), Cary Barlowe (Guitar), Ayiesha Woods (Vocals (Background)), Ayiesha Woods (Performer), Christopher Stevens (Keyboards), Todd Lawton (Bass), F. Reid Shippen (Mixing), Christopher Stevens (Instrumentation), Jeremy Lutito (Drums)
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more