After the acclaimed debut Emotional, Chicago native Carl Thomas has been away from the album game for a while. Emotional was filled with passionate music like “My Funny Valentine”. “Woke Up In The Morning” and “Summer Rain”. Thomas showed his passion, his smoothness, and his ability to switch sounds but for the most part didn’t seem to be looking for commercial success by spreading himself to thin on his singles. He was very big on ballads on the previous album. On his new LP, Let’s Talk About It. Thomas gives you a little of everything. Let us check it out and see how it rates.

The album starts with the interlude “Let’s Talk About It”, an interlude in which Thomas talks about just breaking down the barriers and talking about everything. This leads to the first cut “Anything” where Thomas lets his woman know he’s willing to give anything for her to be happy in the name of the love. The beat sounds like a looped 70’s black exploitation track (like when the hero is walking down the street) and features production by Thomas and Vato, a newcomer to this level.

“My First Love” produced by Just Blaze has a very mellow beat with a nice bass line filled with guitar and the sounds of an African drum. On the song Thomas tells of how this woman reminds him of his first love from the shape of her body, to her movements and mannerisms.

Ladies Love Cool James a.k.a. LL Cool J adds his flavor and appeal on “She Is” which was the first single off the album. Produced by Sean “P-Diddy” Combs and Mario “Yellow Man” Winans this track uses elements of Surface’s Happy to a definite advantage and Thomas explains how special this girl of his is and how far he is willing to go to be with her.

“Know It’s Alright” is a poetic break from the music and features the spoken word of Malik Yusef. With the soft sounds of the drum and background vocals Summer and Sky this interlude is great and of course Yusef does his thang!

“Make It Alright” is the second single off the LP and he talks about his perseverance to do right by his ladies through everything that happens. The singer expresses his love for doing the little things for her like getting groceries and picking up from the store. If you want some tips on the extras needed to treat a lady with class check this track out. This is a Mike City produced track.

“The Baby Makin” is obviously about the love and mood you need to have great baby making. Very 70’s, this song is not for the dance floor but for the bedroom as your rubbing your baby down. Very sensual and seductive this track isn’t for the first kiss. You hear cymbals and a great guitar work. This is a rainy day song produced by Thomas and Damien Desandies.

“Dreamin” is a song that talks about dreaming from the projects of Chicago to future plans. This song is a little autobiographical as Thomas talks about his nights of fame and days of hard work and how it has made him appreciate it. Little things do mean a lot and Thomas makes sure those people who helped along the way are let know how special they are. With a Hip Hop tempo, this track is light on the ears but still powerful because of its intent.

“A Promise” is produced by long time Bad Boy producer Stevie J. and Thomas goes off about all the things he will do for his special person. This song has organs playing and the drums kicking. “Love is in the air” as Thomas tries to make a song people can use for after the freshness is gone and you realize that you want to build with this person maybe for a lifetime.

“But Me” has a clapping loop and features production by P-Diddy and Mario Winans as Thomas ask why how his love could treat him like this. The song is brief but makes a point as Thomas raises questions for the fellas that the women know all to well.

“All You’ve Given” is my favorite track and is one of the few songs you would see on Emotional. Very smooth and filled with instruments of soul this Andre Harris and Vidal Davis produced track shows that if you get good this brother wants to give back and then some more. Harris plays a great guitar throughout the song and this song is a step back on the album to ponder.

“All My Love” is an interlude produced by Mike City that you wished they made into a song. Thomas talks about when he’s giving his all.

“Let Me Know” is based on the composition “Love Is Blindness” written by U2. On the track Thomas sings about building and sustaining a relationship over marching drums and some calming bass. The song has plenty of ups and downs lyrically and musically and is a delight to listen to.

When you just leave one person and you quickly jump to another your usually on the “Rebound”. On this track Thomas talks about being the rebound and how it puts that person in a difficult position. Produced by Eric Roberson and the people at Soundcheck Productions this song is the slowest song on the LP. The chorus is right and the sound of the sound is more contemporary than R&B.

Thomas talks about changing himself from the love received from someone else in “That’s What You Are” a David Liang and Ryan Leslie production. This interlude is soft and meaningful and is a sign of the closing of the album.

Stevie J. returns for production in “Work It Out” which reminds me of Jodeci’s “Freak N’ You”. This track lets Thomas get a little risqué and sensual while talking about his future wife. Thomas doesn’t whine he persuades his ladies to do his bidding in this track full of racy elements.

This album, while not Emotional, was good. Some of the production was similar in sound and topics of love can get complex but Thomas did use new production and also produced several tracks himself. The ballads weren’t in abundance this album and I think it hurt because in my opinion that is what separated him from the “Hip Hop/Soul sound. A good effort but a little off from his original formula I’ll give the L.P. 3 globes. You can listen but you may skip some tracks in attempt to get to better ones.