The Little Black Book

by Jon Azpiri The sophomore album from R&B lothario Sam Salter is a meager effort. In Little Black Book, Salter tries to lure in female fans with a series of sensual, bump 'n' grind slow jams, but most of the time he sounds like a guy who has been lying to his girlfriend for so long, he can't muster the effort to sound even remotely sincere. Although Salter has a rich tenor voice that separates him from several of today's R&B crooners, he chooses to waste his vocal gifts on tired re-hashes like "Your Side of the Bed" and "Once My Shit." He manages to break away from his tired routine on the subtle track "The Color of Love." On the whole, however, Salter spends too much of Little Black Book trying to re-create R. Kelly's raunchy image rather than trying to create one of his own.