Donnie Williams barely missed his chance at stardom when he was
ejected from American Idol five years ago. At the time, the
Livermore-raised R&B vocalist had everything going for him, from
the preppy look to the pliant tenor voice. But he didn’t use the tools
at his disposal. Now he’s reemerged with Just Like Magic, a new
album whose unintentionally kitschy title accords with Williams’
old-fashioned, buttery image. His sound imports gospel elements into a
song structure that’s very much geared toward KBLX radio play.
Williams’ voice, however, is simply wonderful.
Just Like Magic kicks off with a melancholy ballad about
coming up in the struggle, called “Running.” Williams sings hard here,
recalling Chicago vocalist Donnell Jones in texture and timbre. His
emotional freight and layered background vocals give shape to what
would otherwise be a standard-issue tune (the chord changes are
borrowed from India.Arie’s Stevie Wonder tribute, “Wonderful”). From
there, the album gets a little spotty, as the quality of Williams’
singing eclipses the originality of his music. He has some talented
people backing him up in the studio (keyboardists Kev Choice and Sundra
Manning; Brian Collier and Errol Cooney on guitar; fellow Idol
LaToya London, who gets a track of her own), and listeners might wish
he’d enlisted their help on the production end. But he’s also got some
gems: the upbeat pop number “Invisible Man”; the gospel song “Higher
Power”; and “Miracles,” a chaste duet with his equally talented sister
Terrell.
Williams’ voice sounds very well developed, making Just Like
Magic a promising debut. If he reassigns some of the nuts-and-bolts
work, he’ll be straight. (Chump Change)
