A Day in the Life

1	That's My Way 5:15
2	Georgy Porgy 4:40
3	Spend My Life With You 4:35
4	Something Real 4:33
5	Loving Your Best Friend 4:20
6	When You Think of Me 5:43
7	Lamentation 4:06
8	Dust in the Wind 4:30
9	Why You Follow Me 5:24
10	Come as You Are 5:11
11	Love the Hurt Away 5:24
12	Ghetto Girl 4:11
13	Love of My Own 5:40

Barnes & Noble

It's so refreshing when an artist throws in a little old-school flavor to keep things fresh. Contradictory? Not in the sampled-out '90s. Eric Benét's smooth sounds and conscientious content beg comparisons to Maxwell and D'Angelo, but he's keeping it a little less polished -- which is a good thing. On "Georgy Porgy" Benét is a perfect match for honey-voiced Faith Evans, and the result is a mellow head-bopper straight off the '70s radio dial. Other contributors here -- Roy Ayers, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Tamia, Wyclef Jean, and a string of seasoned producers -- add clout, but none overshadow Benét's vision (he cowrote 11 of the 13 tracks). No one song on A DAY IN THE LIFE shouts for attention; instead the midtempo grooves ("That's Just the Way," "Something Real") and back-in-the-day jams ("Spend My Life with You," "Love the Hurt Away") form a steady stream of sublime songs, proving you don't have to be flashy to be a star. Benét is well on his way, but there's so much to treasure along the way. Lucky for us, he's in no hurry.

All Music Guide

On his second album of urban adult contemporary, singer/songwriter Eric Benet scores with a series of mellow grooves and sizzling duets aimed at both the body and brain. A Day in the Life is sharper than contemporary R&B, keeping the arrangements and production simple, all the while nodding toward the genre's golden era of the '70s (which is also evident in the album's Toto and Kansas covers). Benet does, however, play the same loverman role on most of the songs here, never quite allowing them or his tranquil voice to stretch (and sometimes breathe). The best cuts, though -- Toto's "Georgy Porgy" with Faith Evans and "Spend My Life With You" (featuring Tamia) -- are velvety modern soul soaked in traditional sounds. Michael Gallucci