| Weekend | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 9, 2001 | |||
| Length | 46:25 | |||
| Label | Arista | |||
| Producer |
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| Kenny Lattimore chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Weekend | ||||
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Weekend is the third studio album of American singer Kenny Lattimore. It was released by Arista Records on October 9, 2001 in the United States. It marked Lattimore's first album with the label, following his transition from Columbia Records.
Weekend... [is] more conventional than its predecessor, playing it safe with Babyface-style ballads and "Girl, I can treat you better than him" lyrics... [it] lives up to its name--relaxing, romantic, sweet, and over far too soon. [1]
— Courtney Kemp, Amazon.com (Editorial review)
Weekend signified a new direction for Lattimore upon its release in 2001. Rather than progress further into the introspective soul territory of the critically acclaimed previous release From the Soul of Man , Weekend embraced a trendier modern-R&B sound. One reviewer observes, "On Weekend, he delivers an 11-track collection that alternately percolates and simmers, showing the young singer is equally at home whether he's pumping out a party jam or serenading a lover with a passionate ballad." [2]
This new album for a new record label enlisted the help of newer producers like The Characters (Troy Taylor & Charles Farrar), Raphael Saadiq (of Tony! Toni! Tone! fame), and G-funk pioneer Battlecat. Overall, the acoustic guitars, jazz sensibilities, and old soul with which Lattimore was previously associated was replaced with mechanical, stuttering beats, synthesizers, and youthful lyrics.
In a sharp contrast to previous releases, Lattimore sharply scales back his contributions as a songwriter in favor of experimenting with younger talent. Former writing collaborators such as Keith Crouch, Diane Warren, and Barry Eastmond were traded for up-and-coming talent like future hitmaker Johnta Austin, songwriter behind a chart-ubiquitous 2005 pair of songs: Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" and Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You."
The album showcased its title track as an exuberant, uptempo first single. The bassline of "Weekend" interpolated Blondie's classic "Rapture." Though the single performed well at radio and was well-received across the Atlantic, overall album sales suffered from lack of promotion.
A sonically modern trend dominates the album, but a minority of songs stand in contrast to their counterparts. "Lately" and "Come To Me" are downtempo, bass-heavy, rhythmic tracks with 70's soul influenced arrangements and sensual lyrics. Both could have easily fit a thematic predecessor to From The Soul Of Man. Renowned for his lithe tenor voice, Lattimore slips into a Marvin Gaye-esque falsetto during the latter. Notably, the same timbre anchors Lattimore's cover of "Just to Keep You Satisfied," on the 1999 Marvin Gaye tribute Marvin Is 60. Also, Lattimore has also previously established a convention of closing each album with a gospel song. In this case, "Healing" produced by George Duke provides an organ-driven climactic coda to Weekend.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
Billboard critic Chuck Taylor wrote that "with a feelgood rhythm that celebrates everybody's favorite part of the that celebrates everybody's favorite part of the week and slick production by the Characters, "Weekend" may revive the Washington D.C., native's momentum on R&B and AC stations." [3] AllMusic editor Liana Jonas found that Weekend "with its bland arrangements, cookie-cutter R&B sound, and lyrical vacuity, is a yawn. Hookin' up, the inability to breathe without "the one," and other hackneyed themes abound on this banal album. There isn't enough groove or vibrato, shirt-clutching vocals to keep listeners from growing bored, and fast. Find something else to do this weekend." [3]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Weekend" |
| The Characters | 4:38 |
| 2. | "Baby You're the One" |
| The Characters | 4:10 |
| 3. | "Come to Me" |
|
| 4:42 |
| 4. | "Can You Feel Me" (featuring Shanice) |
| The Characters | 4:57 |
| 5. | "If Love Is What You Want" |
| The Characters | 4:26 |
| 6. | "Lately" |
| Dre & Vidal | 4:22 |
| 7. | "Don't Deserve" |
| Drop Squad | 3:52 |
| 8. | "Right Down to It" | The Characters | 4:18 | |
| 9. | "The Things I'll Do" |
| Potts | 3:58 |
| 10. | "Who" |
| Vertelney | 4:16 |
| 11. | "Healing" |
| Duke | 2:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Goodbye Serenade" | 4:40 |
Samples
| Chart (2001) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 [4] | 63 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [5] | 24 |
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records in 1966. The first recording of the song to be released was produced by Whitfield for Gladys Knight & the Pips and released as a single in September 1967. It went to number one on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and number two on the Billboard Pop Singles chart and shortly became the biggest selling Motown single up to that time.
Let's Get It On is the thirteenth studio album by American soul singer, songwriter, and producer Marvin Gaye. It was released on August 28, 1973, by the Motown subsidiary label Tamla Records on LP.
Kenny Lattimore is an American R&B singer.
"Sexual Healing" is a song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye from his seventeenth and final studio album, Midnight Love (1982). It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime (1981) album the previous year. It peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is listed at number 198 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Sexual Healing" is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of 4/4 with a tempo of 94 beats per minute.
"Let's Get It On" is a song by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released June 15, 1973, on Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records. The song was recorded on March 22, 1973, at Hitsville West in Los Angeles, California. The song features romantic and sexual lyricism and funk instrumentation by The Funk Brothers. The title track of Gaye's album of the same name, it was written by Marvin Gaye and producer Ed Townsend. "Let's Get It On" became Gaye's most successful single for Motown and one of his most well-known songs. With the help of the song's sexually explicit content, "Let's Get It On" helped give Gaye a reputation as a sex symbol during its initial popularity. "Let's Get It On" is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 82 beats per minute.
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"You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" from Method Man and Mary J. Blige.
"Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" is a 1968 single released by American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, on the Tamla label in 1968. The B-side of the single is "Little Ole Boy, Little Ole Girl" from the duo's United LP. The first release off the duo's second album: You're All I Need, the song—written and produced by regular Gaye/Terrell collaborators Ashford & Simpson—became a hit within weeks of release eventually peaking at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot Soul Singles chart, the first of the duo's two number-one R&B hits. In the UK "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" reached number 34.
I Want You is the fourteenth studio album by American soul singer and songwriter Marvin Gaye. It was released on March 16, 1976, by the Motown Records-subsidiary label Tamla.
"You Sure Love to Ball" is a song released by American recording artist Marvin Gaye. Released on January 2, 1974, it was the third and final single to be released from Gaye's album, Let's Get It On.
"After the Dance" is a slow jam recorded by singer Marvin Gaye and released as the second single off Gaye's 1976 hit album I Want You. Though it received modest success, the song was widely considered to be one of Marvin's best ballads and served as part of the template for quiet storm and urban contemporary ballads that came afterwards.
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"'Til Tomorrow" is a 1982 R&B/soul quiet storm-styled song recorded by American singer Marvin Gaye. The song was the second US single off Midnight Love released in February 1983. The release also served as a promotional song as Gaye prepped for a U.S. tour in the year of its release.
Kenny Lattimore is the debut solo album of American singer Kenny Lattimore. It was released on May 14, 1996 by Columbia Records. The set was bolstered by the success of singles "Never Too Busy," "Just What It Takes", "Always Remember", and "For You".
From the Soul of Man is the second studio album by American singer Kenny Lattimore. It was released by Columbia Records on September 8, 1998 in the United States.
Things That Lovers Do is a collaborative studio album by American singers and real-life couple Kenny Lattimore and Chanté Moore. It was released by Arista Records on February 11, 2003. The album includes covers of classic 1970's and 1980's soul duets by singers Karyn White and Babyface, Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and more. It peaked at number thirty-one on the US Billboard 200 and number three on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with first week sales of 47,000 units. Things That Lovers Do was preceded by two singles: "Loveable " and "You Don't Have to Cry".
Uncovered/Covered is a collaborative studio album by American singers and then-real-life couple Kenny Lattimore and Chanté Moore. It was released by LaFace Records and Verity through Sony BMG on October 10, 2006 in the United States. Formatted as a double album, the two-disc set consists of Uncovered, a disc of R&B songs, and Covered, a disc of gospel songs that were primarily produced by Fred Hammond. Uncovered/Covered received a Stellar Award nomination for Best Contemporary Group/Duo of the Year.
