Slicker Than Your Average

Never the most self-effacing character to begin with, Craig David’s ego appears to have finally got the better of him. Although this tendency towards self-aggrandisement was just about forgivable on his first record, Born To Do It, due to the presence of pop gems such as ‘Seven Days’, here the saving graces are less in evidence.

As if the album name wasn’t sufficiently indicative of the high esteem in which Craig holds himself, barely a minute into the title track, he’s already letting rip against those who have dared question his artistic credibility: “They said I wasn’t from the streets/And I’m too squeaky clean/There’s too much jealousy in the industry.” Ironically, like much of the album, this tirade is delivered over what is actually a pretty tasty R&B groove, but David lets himself down badly with a succession of lyrical howlers.

The opening couplet of the soppy piano ballad, ‘You Don’t Miss Your Water (‘Til The Well Runs Dry)’, goes “We sail across the finest oceans/On the way to find the key to our emotions”, whilst the nadir is reached on ‘Rise & Fall’ (which, almost inevitably, features Sting), where the singer asks us to feel his pain over the downside to fame and fortune: “Blinded by all the pretty girls I see/I’m beginning to lose my integrity… Now I don’t wanna even please the fans/No autographs, no interviews, no pictures – endless demands.” Heartbreaking stuff, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Overall, despite its mediocrity, Slicker Than Your Average should actually succeed in its intention - manoeuvring David even further into the US mainstream – but in doing so it has sacrificed the idiosycrancies which made his songwriting stand out from the dross that usually dominates MTV. Shame.