I have never been much of a fan of American soul and R&B. All too often it has struck me as artistic virtuosity without emotional depth. Perhaps it only took listening to a German R&B artist to really get out of that frame of mind. After all, if you only have a tenuous grasp on the language, you are compelled to focus entirely on the virtuosity aspect, with less regard for emotional depth. Indeed, it is through this focus on the virtuosity that one
can discover the emotional depth.
One artist who has helped me down this path is Germany's Xavier Naidoo. With a voice that beautifully transcends language, and with music that frames that voice perfectly, Xavier Naidoo has made a believer out of me. Perhaps the best track from his most ambitious album of the same name is
Alles kann besser werden. Whether you understand German or not, this is an amazing piece of soul and R&B, where Naidoo's artistic virtuosity conveys remarkable emotional depth.
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