Mario - Turning Point

Turning Point' is teenage R&B sensation Mario's second album, and the follow up to his 2002 eponymously-titled release. Featuring slick production and smooth vocal stylings, the album sticks very rigidly to the contemporary R&B formula that has proved so successful for his peers. Includes the single 'Let Me Love You'. Album Description

Mario- Turning Point

I will admit i was a little disapointed with this album. Because after the huge classic "Let Me Love You" which is honestly one of the best R&B songs of all time. And more than that it showed that Mario was maturing. Which i knew that he would, so i got really excited for this album. But when it dropped and i went and bought it, i was a little disapointed because i found myself saying the same thing i said about his first album, and that is that when he sticks to his good mid tempo songs about love, he excells. But its when he wanders off that path into the club songs that he loses his some of his strength. I mean some of the songs arent bad like "18" which is a great to get the party started. But its when there are five songs just like "18", which are for the most part just bland dance songs that, but when five of the same type of tracks appear on one 13 song album is when it starts to get a little old. But when he sticks within his zone like on the song "Couldn't Say No" which is little more of upbeat track, but its not that same old party track, its actually got a story to it. And "Call The Cops" is very similar to "Couldn't Say No", they are both good songs but they are also very similar. They are both just up beat songs about cheating- and sex. But when he does songs like "How Could You" which is another Underdogs song which is just a mid tempo song about a cheating girlfriend, and "Directions", which is more slow tempo love song, this is where mario really shines and shows his true potential. The biggest problem with this album is that alot of the songs sound the same, there wasnt enough unique matirial. But i am sticking by my guns to say that Mario will be around for along time, because HE DOES have a whole lot of talent. Hes got one of the best voices in the game, easily. And hes only 18, just imagine the damage he will do with some alchohal and club expierience.


Grade:
C+ December 10, 2007

Turning point is MOST DEF on point

Mario's last album was nice and catchy but very young at best. On Turning Point Mario takes the more grown up approach with not only his songs but his image. When "Let me love you" hit I couldn't believe how much range he had in his voice. When the album came I quickly got it. It's very unfortunate that Usher had the year he had because Mario is gonna be put in the "Trying to be like usher" list. This album has many high points such as "Let me love you" "Couldn't say no" "Call The Cops" "Nikes fresh out the box" and the rock filled "Here we go again". Mario is only 18 as he states and if he keeps improving his music like he did with this album there really won't be any more "like usher" talk. October 30, 2006

Exactly where is Mario turning?

Mario has a lot to prove on his sophomore effort - transitioning from musical teeny-bopper-ish prodigy to sex-symbolic R&B/Soul entertainer; setting himself apart from the rest of today's male R&B singers (especially Usher); living up to the hype & the success of his smash hit single "Let Me Love You". Mario's only 18, yet he's got to accomplish all of the aforementioned tasks. While Mario's ambitiousness is written all over this album, "Turning Point" doesn't entirely succeed with flying colours.

Ironically, Mario is unquestionably at his best when he sticks to the script. The silky-smooth lead single "Let Me Love You" is definitely the best track on the entire album. With sweet, creative lyrics (courtesy of Ne-Yo & others), a smooth, laid-back beat & Mario's soulful vocals, this song oozes sex appeal without the sleaze, and is perfect for any occasion involving love. "Like Me Real Hard" is also another beautiful, soulful ballad where Mario empathizes for a female who is afraid of re-experiencing heartbreak, whilst riding over the guitar work that plays gently in the background. Other high-quality ballads like the sensuous "Directions", the musically raw "Nikes Fresh Out The Box" (warning - the "women-are-like-shoes" metaphor might turn some ladies off) & the soulful second single "How Could You" (which has him question how his ex-lover could be so unfaithful & deceitful to him) also keep the running smoothly.

Unfortunately, Mario's urge to turn up the "raunchy factor" ruins many tracks on this album. Take "Call The Cops" & "Shakedown" for example. While the beats on both tracks are great, the lyrics on both songs suck really bad ("Cause I got a little horny/ Lil' mama put it on me" & God knows how many clichés on both songs, respectively). As a matter of fact, Mario's attempt at glorifying himself in egotism & materialism on the latter track falls flat on its face (assuming that it has one!). Check this verse out, and you might see what I mean:

Verse 1:
Yeah I caught you peeping
Corner of my eye
Me I'm never sleepin'
Guess you think I'm fly
I'm tryna take ya girl home tonight, ya see
Tonight, V.I.P. belongs to me
Entourage, fresh whips and you already know
Got the tweedies chirpin', just turned out my show
All you gotta do is shake that thing for me
Ladies, if ya feel me just come holla at me

The only time Mario's...ahem..."gangsta"-esque persona works are on the tracks "Couldn't Say No" & "Boom". The former track tells the story of a man confessing to his ex-girlfriend about cheating on her "in between that week we split up", and Mario pulls off this track surprisingly well with the support of an introductory piano, some dark violins & a hot beat. The latter, on the other hand, is a straight up club banger with an absolutely hot beat, with Juvenile dropping a nice verse. Not only that, but Mario seems to be genuinely having fun with this track, whereas "Call The Cops" & "Shakedown" felt forced.

With two great tracks that manage to break away from his more successful ballads, you'd expect this album to turn out great...guess what? WE HAVE ANOTHER PROBLEM! Both tracks seems to be awfully reminiscent of Usher's "Confessions (Part II)" & "Yeah", respectively. While "Boom" may be more anthemic than Usher's "Yeah", it simply has nowhere near as much energy, and lets face it... both Ludacris & Lil' Jon are a lot more energetic & generally more interesting than Juvenile. Whether his emulation of Usher on "Couldn't Say No" & "Boom" were intentional or not, the fact is that Usher's overpowering influence is present on both, which is rather disappointing.

That didn't seem to worry Mario though when he co-wrote album opener "18", an autobiographical track where Mario's telling niggas not to compare him to others. Strangely, Cassidy's less-than-average verse blows all of Mario's lines out of the water. Not only that, but Mario's unconvincing attempt at sounding "thuggish" on this track takes away from the song's already-weak feel.

Now all the tracks we have left to check up on are the R&B/Reggae ballad "Girl I Need", the hard-edged R&B/Rock track "Here I Go Again" & the "Let Me Love You" remix. The former track is a breezy summer tune where Mario describes the credentials his dream girl needs. Cham also drops by to drop a nice verse on the track. The only letdown to this song is the horrid chorus (honestly, how many times do we have to hear the ride-or-die cliché on a non-gangsta artist?).

At least it's not as bad as the third single "Here I Go Again", a lyrically clichéd R&B/Rock power ballad where Mario talks about repetitively returning to a bad relationship. I love the lyrics in the chorus, but there's not much else to it. As if Mario's hollow-hearted vocals are bad enough, you have screeching guitar riffs counteracting his usually smooth voice to make things even worse. Thankfully, "Turning Point" ends on a great note with the "Let Me Love You" remix. With a harder, more street-edged beat, along with a few nice verses from King of The South (T.I.) & King of The Lox (Jadakiss), this track is clearly a highlight, and definitely reaches the quality standard set by its original counterpart.

Altogether, "Turning Point" isn't too bad, but there are too many flaws to make this album truly great. To make things worse, Mario seems "artistically troubled". Whenever Mario tries breaking away from his true strength (ballads) by experimenting with other genres & ideas, he tends to fail miserably (excluding "Girl I Need"). However, by sticking to balladry, he leaves himself in a limited space for creativity, which is something most genres desperately need. Mario clearly has potential, but it must be safe to say that I expected better from someone so talented. THREE STARS!!
July 9, 2006

what turning point?...Nikes fresh out the box

I copied (thank God) the contents of this album from my sister. "Turning Point" is completely thoughtless; most of the songs are so cliche' filled with corny hip-hop lyrics that could not even charm a cat. The three stars are for 3 good songs: "let me love you"(the hit single), "Girl I Need" (a fairly nice reggae/hip-hop tune), and THE best song on this entire wretched album which has hit single potential, "Nike's Fresh out the box." His smooth vocals work well with the R&B rythmn of this track.
I absolutely hate it! when artists have a "hit single" with the purpose of manipulating individuals into purchasing their record, when the record itself sucks! skip this if you can or simply download "Nikes' Fresh out the box." June 28, 2006

What a Turning Point

Gee,
What can i say? I really like Mario and I loved his FIRST cd but I can't say the same for this one. Maybe it was the production. Maybe I need to listen to it again
I Liked a total of 2 songs from that cd and thats not enough for me.
I will give Mario credit, I was able to see him sing live and to be a newbee, he did a very good job. I was able to keep me very entertained with is voice and almost good moves.
I think he is trying to transition his self for a boy to a man, so i will give him the benefit of the doubt for that.
May 6, 2006

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