Produced by Bink!, “Can We Go” samples Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “ Evil,” adding to the ’70s funk aesthetics that grace Touch. “Can we go back (to where love is)” Amerie asks to an otherwise stern Carl Thomas. “Can We Go” sounds like a rehashing of the melodic chiming found on All I Have ’s “Float,” but with a louder inclusion of winding go-go drums. You spend so much time dreaming about things, but when you actually end up working with artists that you look up to so much it’s like you can hardly believe it’s happening.” Emotional is one of those very few albums that I say is a classic. “I listened to him so much while recording that album. “An adlib on ‘ Float’ from All I Have was a total nod to Carl Thomas,” Amerie said. Although Carl Thomas’s debut, Emotional, was released only two years prior to Amerie’s debut - making him more so her contemporary - she vouches for how that record shaped her start. Blige.Īmerie also worked with another R&B vet who influenced her sound, Carl Thomas on “ Can We Go.” She met the singer on the “Why Don’t We Fall In Love” set. In ways, Amerie’s vocals on “Just Like Me” - as well as the Red Spyda-produced “ Falling” - exhibit the neo-soul nuances of her idol, Mary J. In the background, you can hear Sunshine Anderson, who helped co-write the track. There’s a brooding darkness underlying the chorus: “So hard to believe she left you alone, all alone/I know babe you can come with me though.” Trying to visualize the attitude of the deep cut, look no further than the album art which features Amerie sensually biting her finger while wearing a black romper, fishnet stockings, and heels.
“ Come With Me” is a chilled out electro-bop that finds Amerie playing both a shoulder to cry on as well as a tempting vixen. While the go-go influences of some songs tied directly to DC homage, her appreciation for the influences of ’80s new wave represented what one would associate to the flashy alternative nightlife of the Big Apple.
What makes Touch a unique player in Amerie’s discography is how it captures the New York City vibe, particularly in the album’s electronic makeup. Recording in New York - and looking at the beautiful skyline - always gave me the energy of being in school and wanting to make it one day with a record deal.” “I felt I really wanted that energy while recording. “There’s electricity in the air in New York City,” Amerie said. The release of All I Have contributed another successful chapter in the 2000s hip-hop soul renaissance and brought massive stateside and international attention to the little known DC natives. The lead single, “ Why Don’t We Fall in Love,” reached the top 10 on the R&B and Hip Hop charts while the follow-up single, “ Talkin’ To Me,” hit the top 20. 9 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart in August 2002. Those sofa recording sessions would end up helping All I Have peak at No. “We recorded it in the basement next to a laundry machine, me sitting on the back of a sofa.” “When Rich and I came out with All I Have, it was just the demo of what came to be the first album,” Amerie said about recording that project in her hometown of Washington DC. It was a partnership that started when, three years prior, the duo broke ground in R&B with her debut album, All I Have. Released 15 years ago, on April 26, 2005, Touch marked the pinnacle of Amerie Roger’s creative partnership with producer Rich Harrison. “Talkin’ About” and the other ten tracks on Touch were meant to display a more “energetic side” to Amerie’s public persona. If there was a song in Amerie’s discography that best described her, “Talkin’ About” would be that according to the singer.
There’s something about the way the song just punches you in your face - in a good way.”Īligning with Marvin Gaye-styled party grooves of the ’70s, the song contains a series of “yeahs” that encourage the production’s ongoing jam sessions. “There’s something about the excitement, the way it makes you want to move…There’s a certain confidence that’s in that song. “There’s something about the aggression,” Amerie told Okayplayer over the phone. On the tracklist, “Talkin’ About,” track six, plays as the epicenter of the cosmo-chaotic, upbeat feeling that soundscapes Touch. The song is fueled by brash horns, funkdafied vocal sass, and the percussive rhythms of go-go. “Talkin’ About” is the third single from Amerie’s sophomore LP, Touch. We spoke with the singer about how the two crafted their go-go-influenced classic. Released 15 years ago, Touch marked the pinnacle of Amerie Roger’s creative partnership with producer Rich Harrison. But, what made the album a critical standout, and one of the best R&B albums of the decade, is its progressive incorporation of go-go, the staple genre of music coming from DC. Amerie didn’t go into recording Touch, thinking it had to have a specific sound.