Signature is the eighth studio album by American R&B singer Joe. It was released by Kedar Entertainment on July 14, 2009 in the United States. Incorporating cuts from his previous album, Joe Thomas, New Man (2008), the album features ballads written, produced, and arranged by Joe.[1] Besides Joe, frequent collaborator Joshua P. Thompson is credits as a producer on the album.
The album earned largely mixed reviews from critics and debuted number seven on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 49,000 copies. Lead single "Majic" and follow-up "Worst Case Scenario" both reached the top 20 on Billboard's Adult R&B Songs chart. The deluxe edition of the album includes remixes to the Joe Thomas, New Man songs "We Need to Roll" and "Man in Your Life", the former featuring Mario and Trey Songz and the latter featuring The Game.
Signature was first announced in June 2008.[2] Initially scheduled to be released around Valentine's Day 2009,[2] it was described as an "all-ballad release."[2] With much of the album already finished by the time Joe Thomas, New Man (2008) was released, several songs from Signature were first previewed as bonus tracks on Joe Thomas, New Man.[2] A breakaway from previous projects, Joe told The Jamaica Gleaner in 2009: "The difference is that it's all live music. I wanted to take it to a throwback of music back in the day when there was no stopping, just a flow of music."[3]
Mark Edward Nero, writing for About.com found that the album was superior to Joe's previous two albums Ain't Nothin' Like Me (2007) and Joe Thomas, New Man (2008) and wrote: "What's different about this album in comparison to his last two is that his past two efforts simply weren't as strong from top to bottom. There were a few songs midway through and/or toward the end of each album that were just kind of there. They weren't bad, just forgettable. But Signature is definitely an album that you can listen to all the through multiple times without once reaching for the fast forward button."[4] Melanie Sims from Associated Press felt that with Signature, Joe "still invokes the sweet, sensitive and sultry. His disc's greatest assets are songs like "Worst Case Scenario" and "Miss My Baby." The first is a slow groove, sung from the perspective of a man who is haunted by thoughts of his ex-lover with a new man. The second couples upbeat production with Joe’s smooth-as-honey vocals to make for a worthy listen."[6]
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman rated the album two and a half stars ouf of five. He found that "it's the lecherous lyrics, more latter-day R. Kelly than Marvin Gaye, that distinguish Signature from the rest of Joe's catalog. When allowed to fade into the background, the album might not sound dramatically different from Joe's past few albums, but it's hard to miss lines [...] which tend not to match up with such polite arrangements -- even when considering that Joe wasn't necessarily a perfect gentleman prior to this."[5]SoulTracks editor Melody Charles was critical with the album first three tracks which she found to "range from slightly lethargic to outright comatose," but noted that "Joe uses the rest of the CD to redeem himself, and Signature ends up delivering what we've always come to expect and enjoy about this talented church musician turned cool, come-hither crooner."[7]
Signature debuted and peaked at number seven on the US Billboard 200 albums chart in the week of August 1, 2009,[8] with first week sales of 49,000 copies.[9] In addition, it also reached number two on the Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart,[10] while also debuting atop Billboard's Independent Albums chart, becoming his second album to do so.[11]
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