Signature

Hearing Joe's "Signature," it's easy to contemplate the singer's imprint on R&B and music. After more than 15 years in the business, how does he differentiate himself, what's signature Joe?

The answers found on Joe's eighth studio album, second as an independent, are both clear and unsurprising. The jazzy and melodic disc reaffirms Joe as the leader of urban adult contemporary as he offers ballads of love and admiration.

When he belts about making movies with his significant other on "Love's Greatest Episode," any crudity is overmatched by Joe's pipes and conviction. But the song raises an issue. For one of R&B's more mature artists, the explicit material should be left to the younger guns. Not that Joe's inspiration can't include sex, but his niche and demographic both call for more of an emphasis on love not lust.

On "Metaphor," he's more on point by singing, "Every word I say my whole life through is just a metaphor for I love you." It's that type of songwriting that separates Joe from the rest of the field. While he may not be crashing the charts like Ne-Yo or the headlines like Chris Brown, he's still able to deliver lines that convey emotion and thoughtfulness. When he contemplates a life with out his girl on "Worst Case Scenario," it's the line "Blackberry blowin' up, turn it off, just want to be alone / If it aint you then I'm not home," that rings of perfection more than anything else.

Then, seeing that Joe is all over the production credits for "Signature," his stamp begins to be all the more visible. The sultry strings on "Metaphor," or the horns on "Very Special Friend" are the kinds of instrumentation that is often left out of song making today. While Joe has certainly found success singing over modern beats from super-producer Bryan Michael-Cox, he adds to his own mark by providing the smooth music on "Signature."

When sticking to his script, love-oriented ballads over slow churning beats, Joe is at his best, but when the singer reaches beyond himself, singing about sex in Cadillac Escalades, or Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, than his signature is one that fades easily.