Album cover for Write Me Back by R. Kelly. Photo / Supplied
R Kelly has had a few distasteful personal and musical episodes during his career.
But let's put those aside for a moment because, love him or loathe him, Write Me Back is a mostly delightful, breezy, retro-sounding album. Not the usual description for the music of this unashamed sex fiend
and self-proclaimed ladies' man, but there's an overwhelming feelgood mood to the follow-up to 2010's equally old-school Love Letter.
Opener Love Is comes on like the theme from Knots Landing meets Barry White's Can't Get Enough, with its effortless lovelorn cheese.
But when he proclaims, like he really, really means it, that "loving you is what I was put on this Earth to do", you can't help but feel a little touched.
Lady Sunday sets off on a lovely lilting piano-driven groove but on When A Man Lies, he mans up and repents some of his past sins with the hilarious line, "yeah, mirror, I'm talkin' to you ..."
