With some of the old school sensuality, such as a Marvin Gaye or Teddy Pendergrass mixed with todays upbeat tempos R. Kelly's 12 Play is a unique blend of senuality and soul. Other great tracks on this album include, Your Body's Callin, Summer Bunnies, Sadie, and the title cut 12 Play. It's my favorite R. Kelly album and probably my favorite album of all time.

The most impressive thing about R. Kelly is that he writes and produces his own music. How many artists can say they do that? If your a fan or R. Kelly or a fan of sensual, soulful music you will most definitely enjoy R. Kelly's 12 Play.

"Let Get It On" for the 90s...
R. Kelly really stepped things up with this his debut solo effort without the support of Public Announcement. The previous LP had showcased moments like "She's Got That Vibe" but had a lot of room for improvement and self expression.

The focus here is almost totally on the 90s party/romance "R&B" sound (He pauses only to honour his mother) and is full of classics in this respective genre. "Bump N' Grind" was the big hit and a definite anthemic highlight as he lays down his manifesto. Other well known material includes "Your Body's Calling Me" and "It Seems Like Your Ready", both are beautifully structured and performed. Tracks five to nine bring a more uptempo feel with a slight new jack twist carrying on from 1992's "Born Into The 90s". The album reaches it's climax on the final two numbers: the bedroom suite of the near twelve-minute opus "Sex Me Part 1 & 2" and "12 Play". It's all really well done, you can tell he had really studied the epic nature of Marvin Gaye's 70s work.

Which leads into the one minor complaint, he didn't seem to have found his own distinctive sound at this stage. His vocal echoes Aaron Hall while the production at times Teddy Riley. That said this problem isn't as acute as on the last LP and the material is great on it's own merits. Even though he would go on to find his own voice and style on his next album (1995's self-titled effort), don't sleep on "12 Play", it's full of gems...

Top 10 Album Of All Time
Just a classic CD on this one. Wow, from start to finish, this album is just loaded with tracks from "Your Body's Callin'" to "12-Play". My favorite track is "Seems Like Your Ready", a slept on classic song. To me this is where R. Kelly starts production spree of songs from Hi-Five's "Quality Time" on. Of course, the two stand out songs with the remixes for "Bump & Grind" & Your Body's Callin'". So please get this one because it is a definite can't miss.

ONE OF HIS BEST ALBUMS!!!
THIS IS ONE OF R.KELLY'S BEST ALBUMS I ENJOY THIS ALBUM IT CONTAINS SOME NICE SONGS: BODY'S CALLIN, HOMIE,LOVER, FRIEND, SEX ME, BUMP N' GRIND, THIS IS A NICE MIX I ENJOY THIS ALBUM IF YOU ARE AN R.KELLY FAN I WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURCHASE THIS ALBUM IT IS A MUST HAVE FOR ANY R.KELLY FAN!!!!

An all around classic!
Don't be too mad at me, but I really just discovered 12 Play about a few weeks ago. I've really been 'into' music the past few years. I feel its important to go back and listen to the 'real' music. This cd has always been in my house, but never listened to it. I mean who doesn't kno Bump and Grind, Your Body's Callin, It Seems Like you ready. But to me those aren't the only good ones on the cd. I love the uptempo jams like HOMIE LOVER FRIEND, FREAK DAT BODY, my fave uptempo being SUMMER BUNNIES! It just screams old summer jam! But besides the obvious the good songs all the releases SEX ME AND 12 PLAY are just so damn good. There has never been an r&b cd since this and it's a tough act to follow.