Terrence Howard - Shine Through It - Music & Performance - CD

Some may be familiar with Terrence Howard as the Oscar and Golden Globe nominated star of such movies as Ironman, Hustle and Flow, Ray, Crash and Lackawanna Blues. What you may not know is that his first love is actually music, which could be heard when he performed Three 6 Mafias Academy Award winning "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp," along with two other tracks, in Hustle and Flow, as well as his roles in such music themed films as the Jacksons: An American Dream, Mr. Hollands Opus and his guitar performance in the Best Man. Produced by Terrence Howard, SHINE THROUGH IT was recorded at Spiral Recording in Hollywood and Terrence wrote, arranged and produced 11 original songs for a collection heralded in the Los Angeles Times as a "stylish retro neo-soul album."

It's easy to picture how this went down. Terrence Howard, fresh off a star turn in the Best Picture-winning Crash, appears as a wannabe Memphis MC in Hustle & Flow. He proceeds to wow viewers with the revelation that he can actually sing, as evidenced in the film's Three 6 Mafia-penned hit, "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp." Some savvy agent takes note. His people talk to the other people. And soon enough, Howard is headed down that path that Paris Hilton walked so perilously. He is (wait for it) an actor-slash-singer.

We shouldn't be so suspicious. It's just that the annals of "multi-platform entertainers" are filled with cheap beats and cheaper sentiments. (The good folks at Auto-Tune could stake their pension plans on this corner of the business.) But let's not let the career arc of Heidi Montag sour us on Howard. Shine Through It quickly makes clear that the performer won't be biting off more than he can chew. The title track is a low-key and breezy number that pairs Howard's husky vocals with a simple drum sashay (though it does scale up a bit on the finish). The vision here is evident: a Sunday-afternoon disc suited for a country drive or a just trip through the newspaper.

And that's a winner of a plan -- for starters, it's a plan at all. A remarkable number of crossover performers seem to hit the studio without an inkling of their musical identity (witness, ahem, the scattershot club-pop of Ms. Montag). But Howard knows his strengths -- a warm, soulful voice and an actor's ability to make it stick -- and he plays to them. "Sanctuary" approaches classic Motown in its smoky vocal line, using a crisp guitar to modernize the instrumentals. "Plenty" is peppier, but it's still designed as comfort food, dense piano chords pairing with meaty lyrics.

Overall, Shine Through It has opted for an intriguing instrumental palette to accompany Howard. The set largely skips classic R&B and soul themes -- even though its frontman is channeling R&B/soul singers. The backing tones here are culled from jazz (both modern and swing) and even classical. "Mr. Johnson's Lawn" is one of the album's most surprising and pleasant tracks, joining chamber strings with lilting Spanish guitar. The effect is to render Howard, who appears in the album art decked out in vintage suits, under backroom lights, something of a classic nightclub charmer. And whether it's the singing or the acting doing the lion's share of the sell, it convinces.

By Jake Blaine