'Full Moon' begins with a funkdafied interlude before moving onto the title track (and second single), a song with a fresh and futuristic vibe that is stunningly on-target. Moving right along, we go into the utterly 'divalicious' "I Thought", which sounds like a fast song Whitney Houston could have pulled off a few years back. "I Thought" oozes a sassy and mature confidence that belies Brandy's own personal growth; I think this song would make an excellent finale single for this album.

Then we go into "When You Touch Me", Brandy's best R&B ballad ever - it's absolutely perfect. Teddy Riley (Guy, Blackstreet, etc) contributes "talkbox" vocals (think Blackstreet's "Don't Leave") that are profoundly plush, and add so much to this already wonderful song. "When You Touch Me" is a modern R&B masterpiece -- I'm thinking this will be the third single. "Like This" is a Janet Jackson-esque ballad in my opinion, musically reminiscent of "Rope Burn" or "I Get Lonely" from the 'Velvet Rope' album.

"All In Me" employs Rodney's flowing harp sounds (a la "The Boy Is Mine") coupled with Timbaland-esque beats that make for an impressive album track. But it's "Apart", a spledid blend of Neo-soul sensibilities and modern R&B (think Michael Jackson's "Butterflies") that gets my vote for most original-sounding song on the album - it was an early favorite of mine. I can't get enough of the sampled vocal riff that occurs repeatedly throughout "Apart"; this is a definite single in my opinion.

The 'Velvet Rope-ish' Janet Jackson vibe continues on the chorus harmonies of "Can We", a decent midtempo; the bridge of the song is cool. Next up is "What About Us", which I find to be only slightly above-average when compared to songs like "Full Moon" and "When You Touch Me". But it's "Anybody" that should have most Pop/R&B fans floored. "Anybody" is producer Rodney Jerkins' blatant update of the original Timbaland sound, but it works -- very well, I might add.

"Nothing" is another one of those pretty sad love songs. Michael Jackson contributes a subtle guest vocal on "It's Not Worth It", a song that vaguely reminds me of "Angel In Disguise" from 'Never Say Never'. MJ's recurrent background vocals on "It's Not Worth It" are beautiful - listen closely. "He Is" musically has the same purity as "Brokenhearted" did from Brandy's first album. "Come A Little Bit Closer" is easily one of my favorites; it has that Babyface/Diane Warren warmth to it, with excellent vocals by B-Rocka (Brandy's nickname).

"Love Wouldn't Count Me Out" is simply beautiful. "Wow" is also one of my favorite songs on the album, it has a very optimistic feel with a wonderfully breezy tempo; I like this one a lot. We finally end 'Full Moon' with "I'd Die Without You", a remake of P.M. Dawn's 1992 masterpiece with a lil help from Brandy's younger brother, Ray J. This version of "I'd Die Without You" is well done -- the violins (and nicely done vocals by Brandy and Ray J) do the original justice; I'm impressed.

At over 70 minutes long, Brandy's 'Full Moon' album is very much indeed a "full" piece of work. I strongly suggest not listening to it all in one sitting, it will probably be too much for most people (myself included) to take in. Start slow, and you'll come to appreciate the work that Brandy and co-executive producer Rodney Jerkins put into this album.

Thanks for reading!

Knyte.


Brandy Is Sittin' On Top!   April 27, 2003
A.J (Boston, MA)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I really love Brandy's nu' album "Full Moon", eventhough it's been over a year. I still play it over & over, cause this album is one of the best R&B albums around. Here's my review of "Full Moon" tracks:

1]B.Rocka' Intro: I love it! Excellent intro!

2]Full Moon: This song is beautiful! I wish Brandy had more songs like this on this CD. The beats are catchy & smooth, & her vocals sounds very matured on this joint. I can't wait to hear more Mike City produced songs on her 4th LP.

3]I Thought: All I can say is Ohweee!!! This is a hot club joint! The beats are edgy & off da' hook! Rodney really did a good job! I love the "Bridge" part of this song, "It's not like you cared 'bout me/Seems like I didn't mean a thing/Should have been convinced to leave".

4]When You Touch Me: Cool song, this song is for the ladies. On this song, Brandy really shows that she's all "woman".
Track Grade:

5]Like This: One of my favorite songs on "Full Moon". Great vocals & beats.

6]All In Me: This song is awesome! It has that 2-Step-UK-Garage-R&B feel. It's a nu' style. Brandy did her damn thang!

7]Apart: A very unique song. Keith Crouch gave Brandy a nu' sound. It's a sad song, but it's beautiful.

8]Can We: This is a very futuristic sounding song! If this song was to have a video, it should have been like Michael & Janet's "Scream".

9]What About Us: I guess we all know this song! Brandy roars at Mr.Wrong on this song, asking him " What about all of the things that you say/What about all of the/Promises that you made"

10]Anybody: The beats of this song reminds of a Timbaland/Aaliyah song. But it's kinda' different, it has this dark/edgy feel to it.

11]Nothing: This is one of the best songs on "Full Moon". Brandy put all her heart & soul into this song. You can really tell she's singing from the bottom of her heart.

12]It's Not Worth It: Beautiful song! I'm so glad Brandy & Michael Jackson got to sing together.

13]He Is: Brandy sings to her Mr.Right on this song. Lovely piano, soft drums feel.

14]Come A Little Closer: This song is sweet & cool! Brandy did it again!!

15]Love Wouldn't Count Me Out: Brandy cries her heart out on this song! I love the ending part. I would have love to see a video for this song!

16]WOW: On this track, Brandy tells Mr.Wrong once again that she has finally found her Mr.Right. Lovely song!

17]Die Without You: Brandy & lil' bro Ray J did their thang! They really did a good job re-making this song

18]I Wanna Fall In Love (Bonus Track): Dancable, break down track! Hots beats!!!

I can't wait to hear Brandy's 4th Album!! I wanna hear more Mike City, Keith Crouch, Robert Smith & other new producers on her next cut!


If you're a fan you'll love it. If not, you'll just like it   March 6, 2002
Scott Woods (Columbus, Ohio United States)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Four years after her last release, we get her attempt at a "Control" album; a record that says to the world, "I am not Moesha". The good news is she's used the time to maximum affect: she sat down, thought about what she wanted to say, decided to push her image's limits a bit, and set about getting the type of production that would yield her those results. The bad news is it almost hits one out of the park, but bops the wall instead.

It's got MAD Rodney Jerkins production all over it - which, depending on how you feel about RJ could be a good thing or a bad thing - so you know it's dance heavy, and Pro Toolsed-out to boot. The record uses more ear candy and electronic popping than your average Kraftwerk album. Think Michael Jackson's "Threatened" track times twelve. On no track is this more apparant than on the unfortunately slightly-remixed version of the great song "What About Us?", which has been playing for months, but appears here only in this Transformer-sounding remix. Overall, we're left with a tone that drains the clearly talented Brandy of all her traditional warmth.

The first half of the record is strong attempts to try the heavy-harmony, beat-aerobics that are so popular right now (think Destiny's Child last 2 records), and she does justice to the style. I just wish that meant more. What it clearly means is she's got some more radio fodder here, if not an entirely classic record. All in all, you'll find a few (more than that if you're already a fan) songs that suit you, but the rest of it you'll stop playing in a couple of months.
The second half of the record seems to want to show you that the first half isn't all totally gimmick; that the woman can actually sing, so we're treated to power ballads and such. Eh.
Is it a great record? Is it a bad record? Absolutely not. In fact, it's probably one of the best we'll get out of R&B all year. Sadly.

Side note: she is to be HIGHLY commended for two things:

1) No guest artists
I like that an artist still wants to show the world they can do a record on their own merits.
2) No slew of intros, interludes, skits, etc.
The record starts off with an intro, but after that, it's 16 straight-up SONGS.

Thank you, sis. You get an extra half-star for being mindful of bucking what have become stupid trends.

STAND-OUT TRACKS:
#4 When you Touch Me
#6 All in Me
#9 What About Us? (Even remixed horribly, it's still a solid song. I guess they figured we'd be tired of hearing the original version by the time the record came out)
#12 It's Not Worth It
#13 He Is


Not Quite the "Full Moon" I was hoping for...   April 30, 2002
C. Thompson (Atlanta, GA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I'm sorry Brandy. I'm happy you're having a new baby, I'm happy you found love, I'm happy you're no longer hearing voices and I'm basically happy YOU'RE happy... but I am not very happy w/ this cd.

Why are there so many songs that sound the same w/ the same topics (What would I do without you, Don't leave me, Why'd you leave me, I thought it was you and me, How could you do that to me, Come back to me, Touch me, I need you, etc... etc.) It's like listening to the same sad song over and over again. Sounds like Rodney locked all his writers in a room w/ Ricki Lake shows, Soap Operas and dramatic episodes of Moesha playing 24/7. I was hoping for songs that dealt w/ feeling good about life and coming full circle or feeling complete("Full Moon"), but it's the exact opposite... and there are soooooo many of them.
Anyway, there ARE some highlights on this cd that seem to stand out for me. They are:

"Full Moon" - I like the overall mood of the song... the production and Brandy's voice and the flow, but I was expecting a whole lot more from the lyrics ( "We can dance if you want, Get it crackin' if you like)... couldn't they think of something better than that? ****

"I Thought" - It's an average song lyrically... a whole lot like "What About Us," but it's alright. I like the little variations Brandy does w/ her voice and the beat is nice. ****

"When You Touch Me" - Average song w/ really good vocals and melody and stuff. I like this one a lot. *****

"Anybody" - Average lyrics again, same relationship theme. The production's interesting though. ***

"It's Not Worth It" - I like this one. The lyrics aren't bad and the production is really good. The song is good in it's own right, but having Michael in the background does make it stand out more and he gives it a lot more character. I like it alot. *****

Well, the rest of the cd is pretty average. It's basically an average cd w/ a lot of production. It didn't satisfy me at all, but it's not bad. Probably worth the purchase, especially if you've never heard this type of production before or you want to hear Brandy sound a little more mature. Definately not as good as "Never Say Never." I wouldn't hesitate to let my cousin borrow it for a month or so, but I wouldn't give it away. 3 stars.


brandy's best work ever!   October 31, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

Till this day it still amazes me how Brandy released this fabulous album in 2002, and yet no-talents like ashanti were getting more attention than her. Brandy and Rodney Jerkins both hit their creative peak with this CD, which is full of r&b and pop tunes with a futuristic millenium sound to it.