Brian McKnight

If Brian McKnight's latest is an evolution, it's of the gradual, hardly-detectable-to-the-human-eye (or, rather, ear) kind. Except for the hiply smushed-together track names, Evolution seems at first to be par for the course for the man with the baby-making voice: purring, crooning, sweet-talking R&B as smooth as satin sheets. But subtle nuance shifts eventually become apparent, like the darker, desperate tone of "Next2U" and, conversely, a general inclination for sweet love songs over seductive ballads. Near the end, he dips the sunny soul of Stevie Wonder, and it sounds good on him.