Just Charlie

On Charlie Wilson`s 2010 release, Just Charlie, the former Gap Band singer sticks with the high-quality "grown folks" R&B material that put his previous two albums in the Top Ten of Billboard 200 album chart. Besides whittling the number of special guests down from three to one, casual fans will have problems telling this one from his previous release, but these ten smooth cuts go down easy and give no sign the formula has stopped working. "My Girl is a Dime" is filled with enough pride and passion, "Lotto" feels like it's delivered from the center of the romance winner's circle, and Charlie's cover of Zapp's slow funk favorite "I Wanna Be Your Man" is highly desirable and well inspired as it turns into a duet with Fantasia. "You Are" is the grand romance ballad and key track, while everything else is as comfortable, coolly sexy, and warm as fans desire. Maybe the album naming scheme -- Charlie, Last Name Wilson, Uncle Charlie, Just Charlie -- could be reconsidered, but otherwise, this is Wilson the way you want him. ~ David Jeffries