Anytime

Brian McKnight在歌坛的声望和地位确立之后，Mercury唱片公司决定不再延误，及时推出他的第三张专辑《Anytime》。这张专辑的制作过程中也不乏一些颇为响亮的名字，如Sean 'Puffy' Combs(制作人)、Ma$e(说唱表演)以及Mary J. Blige和Diane Warren(词曲作者)。这张唱片中首先值得一提的是在美国歌曲排行榜上排在第17位的《'You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste Your Time)》，这首歌由Ma$e演唱，目的是为了把希普霍普音乐的听众的注意力吸引到McKnight的作品上来，扩大他的歌迷阵容。然而这首单曲并不能代表这张唱片中的大部分内容，这张唱片中大部分还是较为成熟的蓝调音乐和浪漫的民谣，这些才是McKnight才能的真正体现。《Anytime》的推出也收到很好的回报，这张唱片进入了排行榜的前20名。 by Stephen Thomas Erlewine On his third album, Anytime, Brian McKnight continues with the mellow, romantic urban R&B that has become his trademark, but there's a new twist. Most of the album consists of songs he has written and produced, but "You Should Be Mine," the first single pulled from Anytime, is produced by Puff Daddy and features a rap by Mase. On paper, the pairing seems a little crass and commercial, but it works surprisingly well, as does "Hold Me," which was co-written by Mary J. Blige and features Trackmasterz. These cuts are fresher than the rest of the album, which is stuck in early-'90s swingbeat -- while that sounds good, it's also beginning to sound a little tired and predictable. McKnight hasn't exhausted its possibilities yet -- Anytime is as strong as its predecessor -- but "You Should Be Mine" and "Hold Me" suggest that he may be better off pursuing a new, hip-hop-influenced direction.