Upon its release, Love Behind the Melody received rave reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83, which indicates "universal acclaim," based on nine reviews.[1]
AllMusic editor Andy Kellman called the album "a significant improvement over The Love Experience in every respect – somehow displaying an increase in both modesty and ambition, as well as offering a more refined yet bolder set of material. Whether or not DeVaughn goes gold, you can bank on at least a couple major R&B artists going into the studio throughout the remainder of 2008 wanting to come out with something as hot and imaginative as this."[3] Steve Jones form USA Today wrote that DeVaughn's "airy vocals recall vintage R&B stars, while contemporary hip-hop and rock flavors along with artful, insightful lyrics on love and life create an intriguing sound. Over the years, the Washington, D.C., native has built an impressive word-of-mouth reputation with his live shows. Melody should give a broader audience an idea what the talk’s all about."[6]Ebony's Shirley Henderson noted that the album was "laced with strong guitar performances and messages of social consciousness."[7]
In his review for Vibe, Keith Murphy found that "DeVaughn does come to his senses to deliver the type of grown and love-starved balladry he excels at on the alluring "Desire," a slow cut that owes more to the romanticism of Will Downing than today’s lay-and-slay R&B male vocalists [...] Finally, the lover-man is back."[8]The Boston Globe found that "after his 2005 debut, DeVaughn ups the ante with a sprawling effort that works as a showcase for his lush vocals. In an era of studio-created voices, this is a step-back-and-listen-to-him-blow disc."[9]The New York Times critic Kelefa Sanneh called DeVaughn "a slow-jam specialist with a mellow voice and a restrained approach." While she dismissed Kenny Dope's contributions to the album as "meandering," she praised DeVaughn for his influences, writing that he "borrows judiciously from Prince, Marvin Gaye and others, relying on his voice to keep the songs on track. Even when he’s promising to “shut the club down," his delivery promises something calmer and sweeter than a wild night out."[10]
Love Behind the Melody debuted and peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling about 45,000 copies in its first week.[11] It also debuted atop the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[12]
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