Eagle-Eye Cherry - Sub Rosa

Third album from the son of Don & brother of Neneh follows 2000's 'Living In The Present Future'. Working with a variety of producers including Tim Simenon (Massive Attack) & Al Stone (Bjork), he has moved away from the stripped-down, live feel of his first two albums towards a bigger, more panoramic sound utilizing electronic elements. With personal lyrics colored by his worldview following the events of 9/11, it includes the single 'Skull Tattoo'. Polydor. 2003. Album Description

Take Me To The Stew.

Like Cherry's previous works "Desireless" (1998) and "Present/Future" (2001), "Sub Rosa" is a mixed bag. It has potential hit singles with "Skull Tattoo", "Don't Give Up", "Up To You", "How Come" and "Twisted Games", but it also has a large helping of average music--the rest of the album. This isn't to say that Cherry has lost anything from his debut, but only to suggest that he has difficulty differentiating one song from another. He still has room to grow as an artist, and, shamefully, the American record companies have shafted him (this album and his last one were released overseas first). If you liked his first two cds, there's a good chance you'll like "Sub Rosa" too. Pleasant and consistent, Cherry knows how to fuse modern rock, blues and r&b together like Sheryl Crow and Lenny Kravitz. He could stand to expand his musical palette, however, and what's interesting is that he utilized several different producers for "Sub Rosa", but the end result suggests that they did not have much influence over his musical vision. It will be interesting to see if Eagle Eye plays it safe or tries to experiment more like his sister, Neneh (when is she ever going to release a new cd???) September 30, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...