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Kissing Motown goodbye after disappointing sales of his tepid 2005 album, Gemini, Brian McKnight embraces Warner Brothers Records and offers fans his tenth studio set, aptly titled 10. 

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The R&B veteran definitely puts it down on this one, with a mixture of classic McKnight soul and contemporary hip-hop boom bap as illustrated on "Comfortable," "Can't Leave You Alone" and the lead single "Used To Be My Girl" featuring a jilted McKnight crooning his loss while bragging to his ex's current lover about having had first dibbs.

However, things quickly take a Marvin Gaye turn as braggadocio morphs into sensuality with the hotly suggestive "Find Myself In You" and "What's My Name" posing the infamous bedroom question. Later "Holding On" offers classic McKnight, silky beat and trance inducing vocals, classic soul-tinged gem "Shoulda Been Lovin You" delivers more Gaye-esque vibe and "I Do" proves perfect as a smoky down home-flavored wedding song.

Guests are few on this release, but when they appear on "Red, White and Blue" it's high impact. Country music powerhouse Rascal Flatts helps McKnight tell the stirring tale of an American soldier overseas, pining for his love back home and singing the chorus:

I fight for what's right, I fight for what's true/ Mostly I'm fighting to get back to you. We don't see black, we don't see white, we don't see what we have to do/
All we see is red, white and blue.

Perhaps the next set will see the singer/multi-instrumentalist pair up with some other unlikely artists. While 10 hardly needs help, McKnight does a fantastic job here, one does wonder how far this soul pro can swim in the waters of unchartered territory.

Download:  "Used To Be My Girl" "What's My Name" "Find Myself In You" "Red, White and Blue" "Shoulda Been Lovin You" "I Do"

  To purchase CDs, click on the cover art or title link. To legally download, click on the iTunes logo. If you do not have iTunes, you can download it here by clicking the "download iTunes" logo above.