In one of the two essays in the liner notes for , alludes to his past as a "rigid" idealist about life and music, expressing that he's tried to open himself and hoping that he's succeeded. In a way, he already succeeded with his previous album, , a remarkable record that cannily used and as the basis for an expert set of modern -- through repeated exposure (every song was licensed for a commercial or a movie) and sheer hard work, it became a massive hit, unlike most albums in its genre, establishing as one of the few superstars. It also gave him the freedom to make a record as meditative and assured as , a quietly seductive set that capitalizes on his status as a star in the sense that he takes complete freedom to make music that isn't necessarily hip. Essentially, this is a lateral move away from , abandoning its attention-grabbing musical thesis of turning the past into the present -- there are still hints of roots music, yet they're usually telegraphed through soulful vocals that have always been a staple of and dance music -- and returning to his bedrock of dance and music, yet presented with the skill he illustrated on , a new open-heartedness and, yes, a maturity previously unheard in his music. Maturity is often seen as a death-knell criticism, especially in a perpetually fashion-conscious genre like , but this is only a good thing here, because it means that not only creates a shimmering, reflective mood from the outset, but that he sustains it throughout the 18 songs, as the album shifts from songs to soaring instrumental stretches, letting the sound deepen and change colors with each new track. Cynics could snipe and say this is coffeehouse, yuppie or claim that he's done nothing new with this record, and they'd be right only in the coldest, literal sense that it would appeal to upscale listeners and that he's not really breaking new ground, only consolidating his strengths. Yet that is no small thing -- he has created a record that might not be as wildly eclectic on the surface as , and it certainly lacks hits on the level of or but it's a warm, enveloping, humanistic record with real emotional resonance, which surely is a noteworthy artistic step forward. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine