Love Behind the Melody

Love Behind the Melody is the second studio album by American R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn. It was released on January 15, 2008 through Jive Records. The album was preceded by three singles, "Woman", "Customer" and "Text Messages".

Love Behind the Melody
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 15, 2008
Length65:51
Label
Producer
Raheem DeVaughn chronology
The Love Experience
(2005)
Love Behind the Melody
(2008)
The Love & War MasterPeace
(2010)
Singles from Love Behind the Melody
  1. "Woman"
    Released: September 25, 2007
  2. "Customer"
    Released: 2008
  3. "Text Messages"
    Released: 2008

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic83/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
About.com     [2]
Allmusic     [3]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[4]
PopMatters8/10[5]
USA Today    [6]

Upon its release, Love Behind the Melody received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim," based on nine reviews.[1]

AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the album "a significant improvement over The Love Experience in every respect – somehow displaying an increase in both modesty and ambition, as well as offering a more refined yet bolder set of material. Whether or not DeVaughn goes gold, you can bank on at least a couple major R&B artists going into the studio throughout the remainder of 2008 wanting to come out with something as hot and imaginative as this."[3] Steve Jones form USA Today wrote that DeVaughn's "airy vocals recall vintage R&B stars, while contemporary hip-hop and rock flavors along with artful, insightful lyrics on love and life create an intriguing sound. Over the years, the Washington, D.C., native has built an impressive word-of-mouth reputation with his live shows. Melody should give a broader audience an idea what the talk’s all about."[6] Ebony's Shirley Henderson noted that the album was "laced with strong guitar performances and messages of social consciousness."[7]

In his review for Vibe, Keith Murphy found that "DeVaughn does come to his senses to deliver the type of grown and love-starved balladry he excels at on the alluring "Desire," a slow cut that owes more to the romanticism of Will Downing than today’s lay-and-slay R&B male vocalists [...] Finally, the lover-man is back."[8] The Boston Globe found that "after his 2005 debut, DeVaughn ups the ante with a sprawling effort that works as a showcase for his lush vocals. In an era of studio-created voices, this is a step-back-and-listen-to-him-blow disc."[9] The New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh called DeVaughn "a slow-jam specialist with a mellow voice and a restrained approach." While she dismissed Kenny Dope's contributions to the album as "meandering," she praised DeVaughn for his influences, writing that he "borrows judiciously from Prince, Marvin Gaye and others, relying on his voice to keep the songs on track. Even when he’s promising to “shut the club down," his delivery promises something calmer and sweeter than a wild night out."[10]

Chart performance

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Love Behind the Melody debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling about 45,000 copies in its first week.[11] It also debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[12]

Track listing

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Love Behind the Melody track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Hello Love (Intro)"Gonzalez0:59
2."Woman"Thompson4:28
3."Love Drug"
Storch4:58
4."Energy" (featuring Big Boi)
Storch3:24
5."Friday (Shut The Club Down)"Kwamé3:39
6."Customer"
Carvin & Ivan4:05
7."Mo' Better"
Splash7:39
8."Woman I Desire (Interlude)" (featuring Malik Yusef)
  • DeVaughn
  • Yusef
  • Preston
  • Gonzalez
Gonzalez2:14
9."Desire"
  • DeVaughn
  • Selan Lerner
  • Gonzalez
Gonzalez5:29
10."Midnight (Interlude)"
  • DeVaughn
  • Preston
  • Gonzalez
Gonzalez1:30
11."Marathon" (featuring Floetry)
Gonzalez5:45
12."Butterflies"
Batson3:10
13."She's Not You"
  • DeVaughn
  • Rich Shelton
  • Kevin Veney
  • Loren Hill
One Up Entertainment4:14
14."Can We Try Again? (Interlude)"
  • DeVaughn
  • Preston
  • Gonzalez
Gonzalez0:52
15."Try Again"
  • DeVaughn
  • Batson
Batson3:36
16."Empty"Cox4:50
17."Four Letter Word"
  • DeVaughn
  • Courtney Dwight
Blaq Smurph4:45
Total length:65:51
Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[13]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."Text Messages"
  • DeVaughn
  • B.D. Terry
  • C. Lewis
  • Clarence Williams
  • Jerry Vines
  • John Davis
  • N. Bain
  • Big Bob
  • Capt'n Curt
  • Chris Symfonikz
3:23
19."Customer (Remix)" (featuring R. Kelly)
  • DeVaughn
  • Barias
  • Haggins
  • Smith
  • Oliver
Carvin & Ivan4:01
20."Rich Girls" (featuring Too Short)
Batson3:33
21."Woman" (music video)  3:56
22."Interview"   
Reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."Text Messages"
  • DeVaughn
  • Terry
  • Lewis
  • Williams
  • Vines
  • Davis
  • Bain
  • Big Bob
  • Capt'n Curt
  • Chris Symfonikz
3:23
19."Customer (Remix)" (featuring R. Kelly)
  • DeVaughn
  • Barias
  • Haggins
  • Smith
  • Oliver
Carvin & Ivan4:01

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Love Behind the Melody". Metacritic. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  2. ^ Nero, Mark Edward. "Raheem DeVaughn - "Love Behind the Melody"". About.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Allmusic review
  4. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (January 18, 2008). "Love Behind the Melody (2008) by Raheem DeVaughn". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  5. ^ Joseph, Mike (March 9, 2008). "Raheem Devaughn: Love Behind The Melody". PopMatters. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Jones, Steve (January 14, 2008). "This week's reviews: Mag Fields distort, Ringo returns to the 'hood". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  7. ^ Henderson, Shirley (February 1, 2008). "So Noted". Ebony. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  8. ^ Murphy, Keith (January 14, 2008). "This week's reviews: Mag Fields distort, Ringo returns to the 'hood". Vibe. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  9. ^ "Love Behind the Melody (Jive)". Boston Globe. January 22, 2008. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  10. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (January 18, 2008). "New CD's (2008)". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  11. ^ Hasty, Katie (January 23, 2008). "Keys Still Atop Album Chart In Slow Sales Week". Billboard. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Raheem DeVaughn Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  13. ^ "Love Behind the Melody (Deluxe Version) by Raheem DeVaughn on iTunes". iTunes. 15 January 2008.
  14. ^ "Raheem DeVaughn Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  15. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  16. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
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