Happy People/U Saved Me

Disc 1
1	Weatherman 2:41
2	Red Carpet (Pause, Flash) 3:37
3	Love Signals 5:28
4	Love Street 4:37
5	Ladies' Night (Treat Her Like Heaven) 3:45
6	If 4:49
7	The Greatest Show on Earth 4:48
8	It's Your Birthday 2:44
9	Steppin' into Heaven 3:54
10	If I Could Make the World Dance 5:28
11	Happy People 7:49
Disc 2
1	3-Way Phone Call / Maurice Mahon 7:03
2	U Saved Me 6:13
3	Prayer Changes 6:24
4	How Did You Manage 3:45
5	I Surrender 4:45
6	When I Think About You 4:06
7	Diary of Me 4:19
8	Spirit 3:57
9	Leap of Faith 4:51
10	Peace 5:09

Barnes & Noble

One of the most talented and malleable of R&B stars, R. Kelly can change guises to suit his ever-changing moods -- from God-fearing sinner to smooth-crooning party man to horny devil. In fact, his seemingly contradictory identities inform his populist approach to music, which has resulted in some of the most enjoyable R&B of the last two decades, including songs that run the gamut from "I Believe I Can Fly" to "Fiesta" and "Feelin' on Yo Booty." On the double-disc Happy People/U Saved Me, Kelly splits his competing interests literally down the middle, tempering the lewd references with feel-good vibes on the Happy People disc and reserving the U Saved Me half for inspirational R&B hymns. Happy People is devoted to the slick, wide-open grooves popular in Chicago's stepping dance scene. Although the repetitive instructional rhythm gets a bit tiresome, Kelly gets kudos for his utopian vision on the Marvin Gaye–inspired, conga-accented standout track, "If I Could Make the World Dance." But if Kelly sees the unifying power of ballroom twirls, he also imparts, on the companion disc, his belief that true salvation comes from a higher power. Given his much-publicized sex scandal, the repentant testifying found here might reek of heavy-handed manipulation in less capable hands. You can almost hear his tears ker-plunking when he questions the Almighty's unconditional love for him on "How Did You Manage." Like a practiced preacher, however, Kelly combines soaring vocals with Everyman lyrics about drunk driving, cancer, and unemployment on the title track, "U Saved Me," and even a hoop star's struggle with algebra on "Prayer Changes." He places life lessons amid lush gospel choir swells and meditative funk grooves, and you wind up cheering for the unlikely choirboy. At the end of Happy People's "Weatherman," Kelly states: "This album was designed to touch your soul / Put your spirit at ease." Mission accomplished. Brett Johnson

All Music Guide

On his follow-up to 2003's successful Chocolate Factory, scandal-plagued R. Kelly spins his notoriety for sympathy, acknowledging that he's a flawed man and a sinner, but he believes in God and is just looking for love and peace. That, in a nutshell, is the theme of Happy People/U Saved Me, a double disc containing two distinct albums (just like OutKast's Speakerboxx/The Love Below). The first, Happy People, is a seductive, late-night album about positivity and love, the second all about salvation and God. Taken as a whole, the album presents Kelly as a saved sinner who still struggles with temptation -- struggles that are chronicled joyfully on Happy People and remorsefully on U Saved Me. Since Happy People/U Saved Me delivers two distinct and cohesive albums, it offers further ammunition for those defenders of Kelly who claim that he's made the best music of his career when under fire. There's validity to that argument. Kelly has shrugged off the celeb cameos that littered his earlier work and he's backed away from any contemporary beats, relying on the classic '70s soul that has always been at the core of his best music. He's turned inward, and that insularity has helped focus him, giving Happy People the feel of an old-school loverman record. At its core, Happy People is a seduction record, and seduction has always been Kelly's strength, so it shouldn't be a huge surprise that it, overall, is the more successful album of the two, the one that sustains its romantic mood and delivers it with stylish economy. As a record, it's assured and coherent, with little flab and a consistent vision; it's one of his strongest efforts. But U Saved Me isn't far behind as a cohesive work either, perhaps lacking the hooks of its companion but never deviating from its religious spirit. Overall, Happy People/U Saved Me captures Kelly at the top of his game as a record-maker, which makes it a definitive work of sorts. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone

His latest two-CD set has two titles and two missions: Happy People aims for dancing and romancing, while U Saved Me calls for fervent prayer. Jon Pareles