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Since 1985 singer Freddie Jackson
has recorded a string of pop hits, his romantic ballads especially capturing the
hearts of female listeners. His debut album, Rock Me Tonight, was the number-one
soul album for sixteen straight weeks, and his second LP, Just Like the First
Time, also went platinum. Rolling Stone record critic Rob Hoerburger described
Jackson as the "perfected
... vocal persona of the smooth-sailing love man eager to please and be pleased."
In his article for Rolling Stone on the new male soul singers, Vince Aletti similarly
observed that like fellow love balladeer Luther Vandross, Jackson
taps the "pure pop romanticism that's at the heart of contemporary soul."
But where Vandross distinguishes his love songs with his vocal virtuosity, "Jackson
is more the pillow-talking love man," wrote Aletti, trading "showoffy
moves" for "hushed intimacy" and "trust-in-me sincerity."
New York Times writer Peter Watrous agreed: "Mr.
Jackson ... is one of black pop's most elegant performers, a singer
who can turn a heartbreak ballad into a world view."
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