The second album by New York R&B crooner and beefcake pinup boy Ari Gold finds him continuing his exploration of smooth, soul-influenced club pop with explicitly gay romantic themes. His voice is as unobtrusively attractive as ever, and the grooves over which he sings (provided by such producers as Desmond Child, Major, Pete Amato, and Marsha Malamet) are all perfectly serviceable. There's a certain blandness to the proceedings, though -- Gold is an okay songwriter, but his "Bashert (Meant to Be)" is about as generic as modern R&B gets, and he turns Culture Club's "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" from a tuneful, sweet pop-reggae confection into a tepid, paint-by-the-numbers R&B confection. His vocal tricks -- the soulful ornaments, the whiny, pleading tone, the electronic robo-manipulations -- all seem to be more about triggering automatic listener responses than communicating anything musical. On the other hand, "Caught" features both gorgeous harmonies and a bracingly jittery groove, and "He's on My Team" (a duet with Kendra Ross) is both funny and charming. And if you get tired of the music, there are all those shower photos inside the package. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide
Desmond Child (Producer), Desmond Child (Mixing), Pete Amato (Programming), Pete Amato (Producer), Nick Moroch (Bass), Nick Moroch (Guitar), Joe Quinde (Programming), Joe Quinde (Multi Instruments), Joe Quinde (Mixing), Joe Quinde (Instrumentation), Steve Skinner (Guitar), Steve Skinner (Guitar (Electric)), Steve Skinner (Programming), Steve Skinner (Producer), Steve Skinner (String Arrangements), Rudy Haeusermann (Guitar), Rudy Haeusermann (Programming), Rudy Haeusermann (Producer), DJ Will (Arranger), Scott Ewalt (Imaging), Major (Programming), Major (Producer), Noel Cohen (Guitar), Gold, Steven (Engineer), Gold, Steven (Executive Producer), Gold, Steven (Mixing), Aaron Whitby (Programming), Aaron Whitby (Multi Instruments), Aaron Whitby (Producer), Aaron Whitby (Engineer), Aaron Whitby (Mixing), Aaron Whitby (Instrumentation), Martha Redbone (Vocals (Background)), Kendra Ross (Vocals), Kendra Ross (Guest Appearance), Brian G. Wright (Programming), Brian G. Wright (Producer), Soong Lee (Guitar), Soong Lee (Programming), Soong Lee (Producer), Michael Lurato (Mastering), Todd Haberman (Engineer), Todd Haberman (Mixing), Mister Means (Photography), Ari Gold (Vocals), Ari Gold (Vocals (Background)), Ari Gold (Producer), Ari Gold (Executive Producer), Ian Barter (Sitar), Michael Degan (Mixing), Mike Degan (Strings), Mike Degan (Mixing), Denise "Twisted Dee" Gurney (Remixing), Daryl Hair (Programming), Daryl Hair (Producer), Danl Linehan (Design), Danl Linehan (Layout Design), Danl Linehan (Imaging)
