R Kelly: Love Letter – review

Love Letter – 43-year-old R Kelly's 10th album – seems to signify a more mature and restrained version of the man who sang "I'm about to take my key and stick it in the ignition" on his No 1 hit Ignition (Remix), back in 2002 (he wasn't talking about driving). Gone are the sexually graphic slow jams, and in their place is a more vintage-soul feel, with Just Can't Get Enough recalling Marvin Gaye, while the lyrics mix lovesick apologies with chivalrous dedications, most notably on the the excellent When a Woman Loves. Other highlights include Lost in Your Love, the sleek Number One Hit and the organ-heavy, Stevie Wonderesque Just Can't Get Enough. Even the barnstorming ballads are pulled off with aplomb, noticeably the closing How Do I Tell Her? which is built around a distant rumble of strings, a simple metronomic beat and Kelly's swollen vocals, flitting between honeyed and ravaged in an instant. A definite return to form.