I Need an Angel

1	Jesus is Love
2	Ain't No Need to Worry
3	Everything's Gonna Be Alright
4	Running Back to You
5	Center of My Heart
6	Jesus is Real
7	No Weapon
8	His Eyes on the Sparrow
9	Amazing Grace
10	I Surrender All
11	There's Not a Friend Like Jesus
12	I Need An Angel
13	Shout to the Lord

Barnes & Noble

During his reign as 2003's American Idol, it was obvious that Ruben Studdard, with his bellowing vocals, has his roots firmly planted in the gospel tradition. While his hit-and-miss debut, Soulful, uncharacteristically found the jovial Studdard slumming with raunchy rapper Fat Joe on the track "What Is Sexy," on I Need an Angel he returns to his church upbringing. Although the "Velvet Teddy Bear" still fails to recapture on record the charisma that he exhibited on television, he sounds more convincing singing the Lord's praise than he did trying to convey a big and sexy image. The disc includes three new songs, including the R. Kelly–penned title track and "We Have Not Forgotten," written by and featuring Studdard's own idol, Fred Hammond (the track originally appeared on Soulful). The remaining songs are R&B-tinged renditions of classic black church staples. Standouts include Studdard's impassioned version of Hammond's "Running Back to You" and a stirring, choir-backed rendition of Walter Hawkins's "Goin' Up Yonder." With his Angel guiding him, Studdard's career is back on the right path. Tracy E. Hopkins

All Music Guide

It makes a certain amount of sense that Ruben Studdard's second album is a contemporary gospel album. His first album, 2003's Soulful, was pitched toward an urban soul audience, and an urban contemporary gospel album is a natural extension of that attitude, since the basic sound isn't all that far removed: the slow, smooth grooves are an uncanny ringer for the sound of quiet storm, only with a religious spin. Studdard sings songs from and works with many of the major names in contemporary gospel music -- Bill Gaither, Walter Hawkins, Fred Hammond, Marvin Winans, plus R. Kelly -- and while there are a number of cooks in the kitchen, the resulting album, I Need an Angel, winds up being cohesive since it's all coming from the same perspective. It's all easy-rolling, smooth, and polished slow grooves, sometimes easing by on the sound of the record, other times gelling quite nicely thanks to some sturdily written and arranged songs. Ruben sounds considerably better here than he did on Soulful -- the voice doesn't sound rushed or thin, it sounds like he had the time in the studio to concentrate and give good performances. He still isn't blessed with a tremendous amount of on-record charisma, but he sounds nice and grounds the album, giving it a likeable focus when it starts to sound a little samey. So, while it has no standout cuts, on the whole I Need an Angel winds up being a bit more solid than his proper debut and suggests that Studdard may be developing the skills that will given him an actual career outside of the confines of American Idol. Stephen Thomas Erlewine