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''The Clarence Greenwood Recordings'' is Citizen Cope's second album. - Wikipedia

Citizen Cope-the one-man "band" also known as former Basehead member Clarence Greenwood-made some smart decisions for his second album. He stripped down the sound from his 2001 debut, yielding a sinewy set of poignant, riddim-based material. He enlisted ace guests such as Carlos Santana and Me'shell Ndegeocello. He crafted vibrant, imaginative characters for his songs-particularly the namesake of "D'Artagnan's Theme"-and makes strong statements on tracks such as "Penitentiary" and the first single, "Bullet and a Target." But despite those virtues, The Clarence Greenwood Recordings feels like it should deliver more of knockout punch than it does. Most of the album's 11 tracks are mired in a loping middle gear that, taken one at a time, is compelling enough but over the course of 48 minutes or so renders the album stultifying; there simply aren't enough moments like "Son's Gonna Rise," with its muscular, descending chords and Santana's spicy guitar breaks. Cope taps into his hip-hop roots on "Bullet and a Target" and nods to old school soul on "Sideways" (with Ndegeocello on bass) and "My Way Home," but he's mostly in a Jamaican frame of mind here, with laid-back reggae tempos pushing "Nite Becomes Day," "Hurricane Waters" and "Fame." There's no question Cope mines his creativity from a deep and genuinely heartfelt place; he just spends too much time in the same place to make The Clarence Greenwood Recordings a worthwhile hang. "Citizen Cope-the one-man ""band"" also known as former Basehead member Clarence Greenwood-made some smart decisions for his second album. He stripped down the sound from his 2001 debut, yielding a sinewy set of poignant, riddim-based material. He enlisted ace guests such as Carlos Santana and Me'shell Ndegeocello. He crafted vibrant, imaginative characters for his songs-particularly the namesake of ""D'Artagnan's Theme""-and makes strong statements on tracks such as ""Penitentiary"" and the first single, ""Bullet and a Target."" But despite those virtues, The Clarence Greenwood Recordings feels like it should deliver more of knockout punch than it does. Most of the album's 11 tracks are mired in a loping middle gear that, taken one at a time, is compelling enough but over the course of 48 minutes or so renders the album stultifying; there simply aren't enough moments like ""Son's Gonna Rise,"" with its muscular, descending chords and Santana's spicy guitar breaks. Cope taps into his hip-hop roots on ""Bullet and a Target"" and nods to old school soul on ""Sideways"" (with Ndegeocello on bass) and ""My Way Home,"" but he's mostly in a Jamaican frame of mind here, with laid-back reggae tempos pushing ""Nite Becomes Day,"" ""Hurricane Waters"" and ""Fame."" There's no question Cope mines his creativity from a deep and genuinely heartfelt place; he just spends too much time in the same place to make The Clarence Greenwood Recordings a worthwhile hang. "