Uncle Sam

Uncle Sam Review

Uncle Sam was the first artist to come off of Boyz II Men's label and as such, his work features a great deal of presence by the group. This presence includes doing most of the writing and background vocals for the songs of the album. Unfortunately, Boyz II Men's strong influence on the album did not turn it into a high quality release.

The album begins with "Can You Feel It" which features Boyz II Men on the chorus. Interestingly enough, it's actually Boyz II Men that kill the song. The verses are okay and Uncle Sam manages to handle them well. However, the chorus to the song is awful and is incredibly boring.

Further example of the poor choruses comes with the second track, "You Make Me Feel Like." Again, the vocals on the verses aren't bad, albeit subdued. The song highlights Uncle Sam's limited range but that is not its biggest fault. Instead, the song suffers from a VERY bland, boring chorus. The song also drags on for far too long.

"Throw Your Hands In The Air" is another disappointing track with weak vocals and an uninspiring tempo. The song tries to be a dance track and yet it is so limited in its presentation that it does nothing to get the blood flowing. Uncle Sam just doesn't have the emotion or the strength to command listeners attention.

The first real solid track on the album, "Leave Well Enough Alone" manages to get a lot of things right. The song is nice with pleasant lyrics and a well-made chorus by Shawn Stockman. Sam's message on the track is that, while he loves a woman dearly, he has to leave her alone since she's already got another man.

"Without Lovin You" doesn't have a lot of meat to it and unfortunately, tries to drag what it does have on for far too long. Uncle Sam's vocals still fail to do much but the song has an okay chorus and is an okay listen.

The sixth track, "Someone Like You," is an alright song but suffers from Uncle Sam's voice. Because he lacks the command in his vocals, all of his songs come out sounding so passive. This song is okay, but it's not going to convert you to his side if you aren't already.

There isn't really much to say about "Tender Love." The song is an okay listen with a nice flow to it. It's a reasonable listen but it still fails to change any of the opinions imposed by the first half of the album.

"Think About Me" is a pretty decent track with a catchy chorus. The verses aren't too bad either but the song still suffers as Uncle Sam can't get a real strong presence on the tracks.

As the album nears its finish, it finally starts to find its pace and entertain fairly well. "Baby You Are" finally shows some emotion and as such, is easily the best track up to this point. It also shows that Uncle Sam is really meant to be in a group more than on his own. In small doses, he can be a pretty good musician, but when constantly in the spotlight, he fails to impress.

"Stop Foolin Around" is an okay song with a catchy chorus. However, once again, the song is very bland and fails to elicit one's attention. The lyrics aren't bad but the song itself is weak.

Closing the album is "I Don't Ever Want To See You Again." The song is practically a novel as it is lengthy. However, the song works. Uncle Sam puts out some powerful vocals and the chorus is equally solid. The song is well-written, and also the only track by Nathan Morris, making me wonder if he's got an untapped talent for writing.

tl;dr: Overall, the album is a mighty disappointment. Uncle Sam just doesn't have what it takes to be a solo artist and it shows all too strongly. My best advice for any curious listeners is to find his song 'When I See You Smile,' as its miles ahead of his other work.