Naked Soul

Raymond Jones is a perfect example of an artist who finally pursued a solo career after many years in the background. Over the years, he had played keyboards for R&B artists ranging from Chic to Stephanie Mills, and he wrote Jeffrey Osborne's major 1983 hit "Stay with Me Tonight." However, Jones wasn't known for doing a lot of singing as a solo artist, and the reason isn't hard to figure out — he doesn't have a great voice by any means. Jones is a talented composer and has respectable chops as a keyboardist, but his voice is small and thin. However, Jones' limitations as a singer don't prevent him from making Naked Soul a decent quiet storm effort. This self-produced CD contains a few appealing crossover/pop-jazz instrumentals, although for the most part, it's an album of sophisticated, adult-oriented R&B vocals with jazz overtones. No one's going to mistake Jones' thin-voiced singing on "The Lights," "Easy Way" and "Naked Soul" for a Luther Vandross performance, but his writing is nothing to complain about. Fortunately, Jones often gives the lead vocals to such capable guests as Lynne Fiddmont Lindsay, Zachary Pugh and Portia Griffin. All things considered, this isn't a remarkable outing, but it's satisfying.