Slicker Than Your Average

Slicker Than Your Average
Studio album by Craig David
Released	November 19, 2002
Recorded	2001/2002
Genre	Pop, R&B
Label	Atlantic Records
Professional reviews
Allmusic Link Entertainment.ie link NME link Robert Christgau (A-) link Rolling Stone link
Craig David chronology
Born to Do It (2000) Slicker Than Your Average (2002) The Story Goes... (2005)

Slicker Than Your Average is the second album by British singer Craig David, released in 2002 through Atlantic Records. It peaked at #4 in UK and #32 in US, while it also peaked at #5 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart in late 2002. It was certified Gold by RIAA in U.S and 2x platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in the UK. As of 2007, the album has sold just over 3 million copies worldwide.

The album was released in a number of different versions. The original release contained 13 new tracks. A six track bonus remix CD was released in Asia that featured remixes of the singles "Rise and Fall" and "Hidden Agenda", as well as versions of "Fill Me In" and the B-Side "Four Times a Lady" from the single, "What's Your Flava?".^[1]

Background and writing

After Craig David managed to crack the American music industry with his debut album his musical style began to alter to appeal to the worldwide market on his second album. He revealed in an interview with andPop's Adam Gonshor the inspiration for some of the songs on the album. He was forced to stay in a hotel room for a week following the September 11 Attacks on New York City in 2001 and it was this event that inspired him to write the song "World Filled with Love". He said in the interview "I was thinking, I'm actually in this world that's filled with madness, with this drama that's going on. Some of the things we were talking about in music, in the big picture, are so trivial...I thought music is a form of escapism, so I used it to write a song hopefully for positive means to say, we are in a world that's filled with love."^[2] David also commented that the album title could be looked at in two different ways: "On the one hand, it's coming across like I'm arrogant. On the other hand, it's saying I have a lot more composure on the album."

The album was leaked onto the internet prior to its official release but David was not too bothered as he feels it "spreads the word".

Track listing

All lyrics written by Craig David, all music composed by Craig David.

Bonus tracks

All lyrics written by Craig David, all music composed by Craig David.

Other releases

Asian Limited Edition - Bonus Remix CD

1. "What's your flava?" (Todd's underground flava vocal remix)
2. "Hidden agenda" (Blacksmith rerub feat. Know ?uestion)
3. "Hidden agenda" (Soulshock remix)
4. "Four times a lady"
5. "Rise & fall" (Blacksmith hiphop rub feat. Fallacy)
6. "Fill me in" (acoustic recorded in Seoul)

DVD

1. "Fill Me In" (Music Video)
2. "7 Days" (Music Video)
3. "Walking Away" (Music Video)
4. "Rendazvous" (Music Video)
5. "What's Your Flava" (Music Video)
6. "Hidden Agenda" (Music Video)
7. "Rise & Fall" (Music Video)

Singles

1. "What's Your Flava?"
2. "Hidden Agenda"
3. "Rise & Fall" (with Sting)
4. "Spanish" (with Duke One)
5. "You Don't Miss Your Water ('Til the Well Runs Dry)"
6. "World Filled with Love"

Critical reception

The album received mostly positive reviews from contemporary music critics. BBC Music's Keysha Davis wrote that "Slicker Than Your Average provides the listener with the opportunity to get into the mind of a truly gifted young star...there are enough club friendly tracks to ensure heavy rotation in the hottest nightspots". However, in reference to his success in the United States, she also pointed out "true fans may be a tad bit disappointed by the new super-slick musical direction".^[3] allmusic's Christina Fuoco gave it a rating of three stars out of five and wrote "Slicker Than Your Average is stronger than the average sophomore effort...it proves that Craig David's abilities are innate".^[4] Pat Blashill, writing for Rolling Stone magazine, called it "one of the most subtle male R&B records in a good while" and gave it a 3/5 rating.^[5] Blender magazine's gave the album a rating of 4/5 and commented "David moves away from underground two-step...toward a modern, mainstream R&B record. Slicker is full of Timbaland-style production, booty-call ballads and even Spanish guitars. Sometimes being real means revealing the marshmallow within."^[6]

Ken Tucker, writing for Entertainment Weekly, gave the album a B- and wrote "David has a voice that's fresh and expressive, so it doesn't bode well that on what's only his second album, he's also an artist already reduced to singing about the burdens of fame."^[7] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis wrote "His second album has its flaws, but they are largely generic: when it tries to fit too snugly into the R&B template, it tails off. At its best, however, it is a curiously unique record."^[8]

Charts

References

External links