Eros, in Greek mythology, was the primordial god of lust, beauty, love, and intercourse. Sounds like my kinda guy! Fitting then that this set of steamy, sexy and soulful jams attribute it's name to this ancient Deity. Actually, what dear old Thomas has done here is link in Emotion, Romance, Oneness and Sexuality under this acronym. Well, either one works for me! Successful producer Rodney Shelton has overseen this album and ensures that Thomas's vocals are matched to some superbly modern soulful grooves. The only sap to the kiddies' RnB set here is the annoying and out-of-place rap on the first track. This somewhat spoils an otherwise strong opening cut. When a rap comes in like this it sometimes puts me off the whole song. It's like tucking into a tub of fried chicken and finding a battered mouse! LOL. Anyway, that aside I seriously recommend the rest of the set. The late 80s / early 90s Jam and Lewis flavour of "I Loved You The First Time" is just what the doctor ordered, and as I am a fan of haunting keyboards and strong vocals this really is a track that works for me very nicely indeed.The ballad "I'm Forever Yours" reminds me of a classy ballad you would expect from an Expansion set, the guitar also gets the thumbs up from me - Joe Lidsey is great here and drenches the song with a bit of summertime magic. Lover it! "Strong Love" is a strong track with a great catchy hook. This is as strong as any cut on the recent Richard Alexander Davis CD (see review!) and as such comes highly recommended. If sexy female backing vocals are your bag I recommend "Step A Little Closer" as we're talking adult vocals and NOT the kids used on many of today's RnB tunes. I like to hear mature vocals and I thought of Voyceboxing when I heard these Ladies. Great ballad too. The acoustic "My Love Is Blue" also tickles my fancy and one gets the feeling that Thomas is trying to pull off a Lionel Richie type of cut here. I'm happy with the result should this have been the case or not. It's different and the lyrics are warm too. Talking of reminding me of other artists, musically I hear shades of Evan Rodgers or St. Paul in the slightly rocky yet late 80s soul flavour of "Just Go". Liking both rock guitar and soul I am perfectly comfy with songs such as this. As a newcomer i am pleased that Thomas has not gone down the well-trodden RnB route. His use of a rap on track one, and some rockier elements later in the CD will assure a wider appeal and I'm not against that. Thank God we don't have yet another Ne-Yo clone! God forbid!
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
The Vibe Scribe
