Music Review: Thicke delivers sharp CD

10/02/2006 4:49 PM, AP
Tracy E. Hopkins

Robin Thicke, "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" Star Trak

For his sophomore disc, Robin Thicke takes a page from the Justin Timberlake manual of blue-eyed soul for the new millennium.

Like the former 'N Syncer, Thicke — son of "Growing Pains" actor Alan Thicke — sings in an alluring falsetto and enlisted the talent of the Neptunes' Pharrell Williams to give "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" an urban sheen. The formula, which Timberlake used for his debut, "Justified," works incredibly well, so Thicke was wise not to stray far from it. In fact, the sparse, electro-funk slice "Wanna Love U Girl" could have easily fit onto Timberlake's new disc, "Futuresex/Lovesounds."

But whereas Justin references Michael Jackson, Thicke channels Marvin Gaye, notably on the rich-boy-blues track "Cocaine" and the classic soul-leaning "Got 2 Be Down," where Faith Evans is the Tammi Terrell to Thicke's troubled man.

Comparisons aside, Thicke is an impressive singer-songwriter in his own right with resplendent vocals a knack for vivid songwriting. The rock-tinged gospel track, "2 The Sky," finds Thicke surrendering to a higher power as he sings, "I wake up holding on to this pain/And there's nothing else I can do /But to give myself up to the sky." Although Thicke's first record, "Beautiful World," failed to attract a broad audience, "The Evolution of Robin Thicke" is a sharp record with definite mass appeal.