By Odeisel

Jennifer Hudson has been through the roller coaster of life, with American Idol and movie star highs and painful death filled lows. Her new album I Remember Me is a triumphant response to a life that hasn’t been the crystal stair. It is filled to the brim with joy, pain, perseverance and an organic buoyancy that belies the troubles she’s seen.

The album feels at times like disco revival, particularly with the contributions of Alicia Keys on production. “Angel,” co-produced with husband Swizz Beatz tells the story of love that shouldn’t work but does, over post –disco vocal arrangements, fizzing digital elements and a Broadway-like piano. The uptempo “Everybody Needs Love” is almost made for Donna Summer, with its bassline and call-and-response construction on the bridge. It’s unabashedly fun and built for the dance floor. Keys’ final contribution, “Don’t Look Down,” co-produced with Salaam Remi, is retro with an engaging, catchy hook built for those that remember when clubs were about dancing and not posing.

Remi is left to his own devices on “Feeling Good.” The addition of big brass and various booming Broadway elements take the sting off the over-sung a capella featured in those annoying weight loss commercials. Rich Harris opens the album with “No One Gonna Love You,” another Broadway number with a stalker-like feel. Hudson belts “Don’t send me to voicemail, I’m just going to text you” in an attempt to convince her man that no one can love him like she does, and presumably not get a restraining order.

The album does venture into ballad territory.  The title song refers to moving on in life, and recognizing the difference between who you were and what you have become and reconciling that change while maintaining the courage to live life and take risks. The R Kelly-produced “Where You At” deals with the broken promises of love and presents an urban ordinary take on relationships that go awry when one party doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

“I Got This” is a mid-tempo track driven by a piano and bound by low tonal synth and an acoustic guitar. The Stargate- helmed number is a triumphant declaration of perseverance, strengthened by Hudson’s incredible journey as a woman “from the Southside trying to get to my goal.”

Big drums punctuate “Why Is It So Hard” (Produced by Ne-Yo & Chuck Harmony). The song speaks to the difficulties in relationships after the honeymoon is over. The sticking point is her refusal to walk despite the lying and the crying and reasons why this love should be over. It’s a nicely-arranged, contemporary production. The highs and lows and breaks are where they should be, but are not derivative of stuff you’ve heard before. “Gone,” by Polow Da Don and Hitboy is the opposite, with club-synth production aimed directly at radio. The break is awkward and abrupt;it doens’t allow for the proper emotional build and release.   

Harvey Mason produced the signature emotional moments on the album with “Still Here” and “Believe.” The former concerns the memory of lost loved ones that Hudson keeps with her. The latter is the close of the album, built as a well-constructed emotional release from the ups and downs of the album. Mason does a wonderful job of playing to Hudson’s strengths as a vocalist, fusing Gospel elements with R&B and the musical aesthetic that made Hudson famous in Dreamgirls.

I Remember Me is indeed a new dawn and a new day for Jennifer Hudson. While some of the elements of the album skew to an older audience, the emotional highs belie the tragedies that she has lived through and it’s not the downer you could expect. She has a big voice that is reined in by production and not allowed to run amok. Not an all-time album, but enough to cement her star.

Out of 5

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