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You know the old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words? Well, everything you need to know about Dwele's fifth album, Greater Than One is written all over the cover art. In the image, D sits relaxing in a comfortable chair, deeply involved in his work. That picture pretty much personifies the album as a whole, too: it's a portrait of a serious, sophisticated artist who's deeply involved in his work, but still manages to remain firmly in the comfort zone, both literally and figuratively.

Greater Than One, which will be released in the U.S. Aug. 28, 2012, pretty much gives you what you expect from Dwele: intelligent, thoughtful, mid-tempo R&B/Soul songs that are simple, straightforward and have the ability to touch the core of your romantic side.

Cool, Laid-Back

Spoiler alert: if you're heard any of Dwele's previous albums, then you pretty much know what to expect from Greater Than One. D's cool, laid-back vocal delivery is still fully intact, as is his preference for mid-tempo melodies and lyrics that actually have intelligent themes and tell stories, rather than just travel in circles and ultimately go nowhere. One of the better examples of this on the album is "What You Gotta Do a track where Dwele teams up with another under-appreciated male Soul singer, Raheem DeVaughn, for a duet that advises men regarding what they need to do to keep their romantic relationships fresh.
Another winner is "Obey," a sensual track about being a dominant partner in the bedroom. Maybe even a little too dominant: "If only for a moment, accept me as your king," he sings at one point.

"Tap me once if there's too much pressure, tap twice if you need to breathe/Don't play tough if you're not ready, before you faint on me." But despite the vaguely sadomasochistic shenanigans within the lyrics, the song as a whole is actually pretty soft and tender. Soft and tender actually pretty much describes nearly all of the 13 songs here, even "Love Triangle," a song about a guy wanting to hook up with a woman, only to somehow wind up with her friend. Although it sounds like the plot of a Jerry Springer episode, Dwele eschews over-the-top dramatics in favor of smoothed-out realism.

Quality Tunes

The best song on Greater Than One however, is arguably "What Profit," a tale of how money comes and goes, but love can be forever: "What profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his girl," he sings rhetorically. "If I was your man, I'd do all I can to keep you, girl." Not only are the lyrics and vocals on point, but the music perfectly vibes with the singer's voice, something that can't be said for all the backing tracks here.
The one glaring example of an idea gone wrong here is "PATrick RONald," an ode to Patron tequila that's disguised as a wannabe party track. The premise of the song is pretty simple: Dwele finds himself in a nightclub getting his drink on when he comes across a pretty acquaintance and starts to sing about his love for bottles of "PATrick RONald." It's a horribly unoriginal, fad-hopping, out-of-place tune that literally sounds like a paid advertisement. It's easily the worst track on the album, and when all is said and done, it might go down as the worst song of his career.
Fortunately, the one awful song here is overshadowed by plenty of good material. One than the above-mentioned track, all the songs here are quality tunes that most Dwele fans should be happy with.