The liner notes to Jennifer Lang’s 2009 album, 3 O’clock Saturday are peppered with thanks to God, tongue-in-cheek, crediting to herself and thanks to Cloyd R. Willis Jr. From this, it’s a bit tough to anticipate what’s going to play once the disc starts spinning. About one minute into the opening, “Jenny’s Groove”, everything becomes clear; Jennifer Lang is going to deliver a soulful collection of R&B tracks with passion.

Lang’s spiritual influences are rooted deep into her youth as she grew up singing in church and eventually began listening to the music of Aretha Franklin and Al Green. Fittingly enough, Lang’s voice is well described as an amalgamation of those two. Though she doesn’t display the range of Aretha (but who does?) she takes a bit of her power and combines it with the smoothness of Green. Lang’s songwriting plays well with her voice as much of the subject matter is fairly by the books. There’s a good deal of female empowerment and triumph over love and life’s pratfalls, (”Don’t Think On It”, and “Betcha Thought”) betrayal, (”You Said”, “I Don’t Understand) and hopeful numbers that round out the album’s sixty-minute running length (”Keep Your Head Up”, “I Don’t Know When It’s Coming”).

The songwriting is well done but on its own, seldom exceptional. More than anything, it’s sincere. Lang’s voice however is compelling whether it’s standing on its own, or superbly overdubbed like on “Falling in Love.” When she sings her self-penned lyrics, it lifts the songs to a level they wouldn’t otherwise reach. Her passion for her music is very much evident and it shines through on every song.

Though Lang’s name is the one on the cover, the album’s “secret weapon” of sorts is the aforementioned Cloyd R. Willis Jr. Willis is responsible for not only the production, but every instrument on the recording, including (but not limited to) Fender P-Bass, strings, vibes, flute, percussion, oboe, electric piano, soprano sax, organ, and French horn. The consistent stand-out is his bass playing. There’s not a song on here that doesn’t feature a tight bass groove. The drum programming though often leaves much to desire. As is typical with much modern R&B, it’s very mechanical and static. Given the dynamics of the rest of the music, real drums would’ve been a welcome addition to the mix.

Some of the album’s finest moments are when Lang deviates from the formulaic R&B to deliver performances that feature the influences of other genres. “Ya Keep Sayin” is almost a throwback to slow jazz. It’s easy to imagine this song being played in the confines of a smoky bar in a film noir. The album’s closer, “I Don’t Know When It’s Coming” is the most gospel influenced of the fourteen songs; a surprising oddity in how much Lang’s faith is displayed in the liner notes. Regardless, the placement of this song is impeccable; ending on a strong gospel note of hope and faith is a welcome turn-around from some of the darker images presented on earlier songs. Some more of this material would’ve made for a stronger album overall, but doesn’t really detract from it being a solid R&B album.

3 O’clock Saturday will be very well received by R&B fans. Lang’s voice is a great instrument, effectively produced by Willis throughout. What the album lacks in amazing songwriting it makes up for in a fantastic amount of sincerity and emotion. Safe to say, Lang has avoided the “sophomore slump” that artists can encounter and has turned out an album that she can be proud to thank God for helping her and Willis create.

Reviewed By Heath Andrews

admin Heath Andrews, Reviews 3 O'Clock Saturday, Jennifer Lang