Critically acclaimed and Grammy-nominee "Kenny Lattimore," presents us his follow-up to his self-titled debut album, a rare mix of R&B, Soul and Blues, with some of the most clever songwriting that I've seen this year.

My first reaction to the musical aspect of "From The Soul Of Man" did not leave me too excited about it. It felt mostly like a combination of soul and R&B melodies, which I have heard a hundred times before, only by different performers and with different lyrics. What set this work apart were the lyrics themselves.

"From The Soul Of Man" is a fair and just title for this record. The 15 tracks (of which two are covers, more on that later) show a snapshot of a man's heart as he goes throughout the ins and outs of a relationship. There is a little bit of everything: Happiness, conflict, fear, hope - well, you name it. Each of the songs has been carefully crafted, and my bet is that each can stand its own ground as an excellent love poem.

"Days Like This," the first cut from the CD, is a very sincere and effective explanation of a man's hesitation to open up his heart. "If I Lose My Woman" is a tale of the insecurity that we all go through when we think we have finally found our soul mate, but at the same time we start getting scared that something is going to screw up the relationship. Also worthy of mention is "Just Can't Get Over You," which back at school is what we used to call a "wrist slasher," the kind of song that exploits your fears of losing somebody you love.

Good stuff.

The cover songs were a refreshing surprise. The first time I listened to "From The Soul Of Man," I only spotted "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (I won't tell you who wrote it, look it up). I am not exactly crazy about cover songs, but I have to admit that I liked what "Kenny Lattimore" did with it, and basically he did it justice. I didn't notice the second cover until a couple days later. I could not believe my ears, but for some reason "I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" had a ring to it. A quick browse throughout my CD collection gave the answer - Blood, Sweat and Tears! One of the easiest ways to judge an artist is to see what kind of music he/she listens to. So what we have here is a R&B singer that also likes The Beatles (there, I said it) and Blood, Sweat and Tears, which more than explains the subtle strings and piano arrangements that you hear if you crank down the bass response in your stereo. That gives "From the Soul Of Man" a completely different sound, almost bordering on jazzy.

This is a good CD, and the only reason I did not rate it higher, is because of the sound mastering that puts so much emphasis on the bass that you can hardly hear the strings and the keyboards.