R Kelly: Love Letter — review

Might R Kelly be growing gentlemanly in middle age? That's the suggestion of Love Letter , which repositions the priapic R&B eccentric as an old-fashioned soul man intent on bringing "love songs back to the radio": cue liberally applied horns, assorted sweet nothings, and nods to Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross and the Righteous Brothers. It's pastiche, certainly, but Kelly's expressive croon carries the day: equal parts honeyed and rasping, and bristling with a sincerity that reaches its zenith on the spine-tingling, a cappella finale of "When a Woman Loves".