The Singles Jukebox

Prepare for some quite staggeringly unprecedented agreement…

[Video][Website]
[5.11]

Andrew Unterberger: In more ways than one, naturally. And even if, as with Lipps and Robb talking about it being now-or-never time for them in Anvil: The Story of Anvil, it feels a bit late even for last chances, I suppose Ginuwine deserves another shot as much as anyone — guy amassed a relatively impressive hit catalogue over the better part of a decade for a guy with no hugely distinguinshing characteristics. I don’t think this is really the song to get him back up there — not quite big enough to be undeniable, and not really mature enough to be a compelling reinvention — but I wouldn’t begrudge him for it if it did. Beware, though, Ginny — you might be dating yourself just a bit with those ’92 Bulls references.
[5]

Al Shipley: Ginuwine’s felt like a man out of time, left behind by R&B’s newer stars and trends, in the 6 years since his last hit. And in a way, it’s refreshing that he’s managed to stage a bit of a comeback by sticking to his old script of belting out midtempo ballads, instead of jumping on anyone else’s bandwagon. I’m not gonna go putting this song up there with “Differences” or anything, though.
[5]

Michaelangelo Matos: Starts by suggesting that, if this is to become our favorite song, we should request it and push it on others. Nice try. “Believe me, baby, talking ’bout the kind of change/From a boy to a man/Like Barack and his plan.” Ditto.
[5]

Hillary Brown: I like that this is a thing going forward, the application of political metaphors to gettin’ it on (and in a good way, not in a buggering against one’s will way), but it’s a shame Ginuwune’s application of it isn’t better. It’s a decent slow jam but the musical side isn’t terrifically inspiring.
[5]

Chuck Eddy: News flash: I have never had a (genuine) Ginuwine opinion! I might even have him confused with somebody — could have sworn he was a rapper once, but Rhapsody lists him as “Contemporary R&B.” So…did I ever tell you how much I hate “Contemporary R&B”? Well, maybe I will sometime. This isn’t awful, though. I dunno… low-rent R. Kelly? Probably not (probably more like medium-rent somebody-a-lot-worse-than-R.-Kelly). Sounds….competent. Though less competent when he shifts vocal gears three-quarters of the way through. And the competence, inasmuch as it’s there, seems to have more to do with putting over a semblance of a groove than actually expressing any ginuwine last-chancitude. And I don’t get what the crunk barks are for — they just feel like gratuitous throat-clearing. Like somebody needs to hock a loogie.
[5]

David Raposa: I guess going through the motions never sounded so smooth (or offered a context-free shout-out to Michael Jordan simply for the “1992” rhyme — if Trey Kerby’s still around, maybe he can make a true case for the clutchness of His Airness that year versus others), but Ginuwine sounds about as interested & invested in this song as I am. If I ever again get the chance to give the business to a member of the fairer sex (you never know!), I’d save this jam for the post-post-post-negosh.
[5]

Martin Skidmore: I quite like his singing, the way it sinuously sways around the song. The production is fairly simple, leaving him to carry the single, which he does pretty well. It’s a song about rescuing a relationship, and maybe there isn’t enough sense of desperation or determination in vocal or production, since I’m not sure he can do much besides seductive, but it’s still a warm and pleasant listen.
[7]

Tom Ewing: Real desperation in Ginuwine’s voice as he makes his final pitch, spoiled by forced-to-say-the-least Obama reference and – more crucially – a drum sound like a bored office worker kicking a filing cabinet.
[4]

Rodney J. Greene: Let’s just put it this way: If Gin had released this in ’96 instead of “Pony”, no one would have even blinked.
[5]