Music

Artist: Al B. Sure!

Album: Honey I'm Home

Grade: B-

Label: Hidden Beach Recordings

Al B. Sure! opens his first studio album in 17 years with a brief snippet of the hook from his signature hit, 1988's "Nite and Day." You know, just in case you forgot the song for which he's most famous.

That's a smart move on a couple of levels. Aside from the obvious, the brief interlude segues into "I Love It (Papi Aye Aye Aye)," the new single from the man born Albert Joseph Brown III. The song, like "Nite and Day," is a slinky slice of nighttime R&B with that classic sinewy hook that made his early oeuvre so deliciously alluring.

Honey I'm Home arrives with 10 originals from his pen, including the wickedly groovy "Whatcha Got" and the beat-heavy jam "Top of Your Lungs." Sure is most adept at crafting slithering numbers that pack a deceptively delicate but ultimately penetrating bite.

The record's two covers – Sting's "Fragile" and Michael Jackson's "Lady in My Life" – nicely encapsulate his musical vision. He's happily old-school, thank you very much.

Honey I'm Home does get better with repeated listens, but it never sheds its padded length. Clocking in at nearly 52 minutes does weigh on the project. Eventually, Sure starts to run out of ideas.

Still, it's good that he's back making music for the masses.

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