Personnel: Joe Thomas (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, programming); Joshua Thompson, George Wadenias (acoustic guitar); Randy Bowland, Japhie Tejeda, Geary Moore (guitar); Onaje Allan Gumbs (Fender Rhodes piano); Edwin Nicholas, Larry "Rock" Campbell (keyboards, programming); Timmy Allen (drum programming); Monique Anderson, Gerald Levert, Jolyon Skinner, Sean Daniels, Larry McMurray (background vocals).
Recorded at The Crib, Maplewood, New Jersey; The Crib, Clinton, New Jersey; On The Way Studios, Cleveland, Ohio; Battery Studios, and The Soundtrack Group, New York, New York.
Engineers include: Earl Cohen, Eric Gast, Dexter Simmons.
Editor: Chaz Harper.
Photographer: Jonathan Mannion.
On ALL THAT I AM, Joe offers 12 tracks of slow, smooth R&B stylings, with diverse arrangements and creative performance, all centered around the breathy, earnest voice of Joe Thomas. In addition to his multi-tracked vocal arrangements, Joe also makes substantial keyboard, programming, and production contributions.
Lyrically, the album ranges from the swaggering bravado of "The Love Scene" to the emotional vulnerability of "No One Else Comes Close." Not wanting to fall back on R&B cliches, Joe opts for a fresher metaphor--"I hear he' s got you in lockdown, but I got the master key" ["All The Things (Your Man Won't Do)"]. ALL THAT I AM features some impressive production tricks including the reverse loop intro to "U Shoulda Told Me (U had A Man)," the flanged vocal effects of "Don't Wanna Be A Player" and exotic instrumental samples throughout.
Professional Reviews
The Source (9/97, p.233) - "...ALL THAT I AM is a fantasy ride that wills something to the imagination....It's a well-rounded artist-driven album that doesn't insult R&B aficionados with stale radio ambience..."
