By this point,
Vannelli
has pared away the often-bizarre edges of his sound and became more mainstream. That's not a bad thing. This album's predecessor,
A Pauper in Paradise
, seemed to blow up his pretensions to skyscraper size with only the melodic and gorgeous
"The Surest Things Can Change"
coming out unscathed. The good news is that
Brother to Brother
seems to pick up from that point. The big hit here, the sexy and confident
"I Just Want to Stop,"
gets a great vocal from
and the backing vocalists. Throughout, this one gets the sense that
finally got what made him special vocally and lyrically.
"Love and Emotion"
and
"Feel Like Flying"
have a maturity that he couldn't have pulled off two albums before. That is also true of the pensive
"Wheels of Life,"
a song that's so melodically rich and thought-provoking, it's surprising that
Peabo Bryson
didn't cover it on one of his albums.
Gino Vannelli
's often more personal than more artists, and the final track proves it. The sleek and well-arranged
"People I Belong To"
has
examining the lives of his parents and brothers in a way that can't help but be affecting. After a few years of successful albums for
A&M
,
coalesced the sound and is recommended to fans of
pop
R&B
. ~ Jason Elias