Ginuwine
Reviewed on this page:
The Bachelor - 100% Ginuwine - The Life
The male singer in Timbaland's Virginia-based hip hop/R&B stable, Ginuwine has a personable and very
flexible voice. He hasn't attracted nearly as much attention as his female counterpart Aaliyah, though he
writes more of his own material, and since Timbaland's gotten as big as he's likely to get, I don't expect Ginuwine to ever become a
megastar.
Like the other artists in his circle, he's made a bunch of guest appearances on records by Timbaland and Missy
Elliott (I don't think he ever guested for Aaliyah) and has done some soundtrack work.
I haven't found a fan site; stay tuned.
(DBW)
 The Bachelor (1996)
Not an overly impressive debut; Timbaland padded the first rate material - "Ginuwine 4 Your Mind"
- with a lot of ordinary and subordinary
tunes (a low-energy cover of "When Doves Cry"; "550 What?" with a truly annoying bellowed refrain).
I'm not even crazy about the hit single "Pony," a midtempo grind with no particularly good hook, and Ginuwine doesn't show the vocal flexibility that's all over his sophomore release.
Timbaland does show his usual originality with drum patterns and atypical synth tones (the hook in "Tell Me Do U Wanna" sounds like a children's toy being stepped on), and "Lonely Daze" has
an appropriately languorous quality.
Ginuwine wrote most of the songs with Timbaland; Missy Elliott co-wrote "I'll Do Anything/I'm Sorry" (with a sample from Stevie
Wonder's "Visions") and "G. Thang" (with a sample from LL Cool J's "The Boomin' System").
(DBW)
 100% Ginuwine (1999)
Ginuwine's versatility serves him well this time out: he sounds exactly like Michael Jackson one
minute (a cover of "She's Out Of My Life") and like a cocky streetwise kid on the next ("So Anxious"). He's also a fine lyricist - though
the focus is romance throughout, the songs are unclichéd, plain spoken and often touching ("Same Ol' G"), though sometimes he's a
bit full of himself, and can spoil everything with misplaced vulgarity ("None Of Ur Friends Business"). Most of the music is
by Timbaland, who also produced nearly all the tracks, and he uses a broader palette here than on his solo or Missy
work: there's a lot of melodic guitar ("Final Warning," a duet with Aaliyah) and some curious samples (Godzilla's roar closes
out "What's So Different") in addition to the usual eerie strings, gut-pounding keyboard bass and tightly wound electronic
percussion. It ends up being the least artificial blend of R&B and hip hop this side of Bone
Thugs-N-Harmony. With a bit more variation from track to track, this could have been one of the best albums of the
year. (DBW)
In 2000 Ginuwine contributed "Simply Irresistable" to the Romeo Must Die Soundtrack. (DBW)
 The Life (2001)
Every so often, a singer falls in love with his own voice, and figures the melodies don't matter much as long as he gets to vocalize
like crazy. Usually his producer talks him out of it, but not this time: Ginuwine goes totally overboard with overlong would-be
seductive ballads lacking any real melody ("Just Because," "Differences"). He does a good job with the lyrics, though, making good use of
detail, and using contemporary references that never seem forced ("2 Way," about a man, a woman and their pagers).
Timbaland only produced one track, "That's How I Get Down" featuring Ludacris, and Raphael Saadiq co-wrote and co-produced "2 Way" with Ginuwine.
Most of the production is from Troy Oliver or Big Dog Productions, and they stick close to contemporary formulas: drum loops, heavy bottom,
familiar keyboard licks.
Unlike his first two discs, there's no high-profile cover, but two songs borrow titles from crappy 70s ballads ("Open Arms," produced by
the dreadful Cory Rooney;
"How Deep Is Your Love"), and he does interpret a treacly Diane Warren tune ("Superhuman").
(DBW)
Back II Da Basics (2005)
No production from Timbaland this time - Oliver, Trackmasters and the Underdogs shoulder the burden -
and I won't be rushing to write a review.
(DBW)
A Man's Thoughts (2009)
Production comes from all over including Bryan-Michael Cox ("Last Chance"); Timbaland and Missy appear on "Get Involved."
(DBW)
Elgin (2011)
A Ginuwine Christmas (2011)
What's so different?
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