How Do You Do (Mayer Hawthorne album)

How Do You Do
Studio album by Mayer Hawthorne
Released October 11, 2011
Recorded 2010–11
Genre Soul, R&B
Length 38:29
Label Universal Republic
Mayer Hawthorne chronology

A Strange Arrangement
(2009)		 How Do You Do
(2011)		 Where Does This Door Go
(2013)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [1]
Robert Christgau (A–)[2]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[3]
Los Angeles Times [4]
PopMatters (8/10)[5]
Rolling Stone [6]
Slant Magazine [7]
Spin (8/10)[8]

How Do You Do is the second studio album by American recording artist Mayer Hawthorne, released October 5, 2011, on Universal Republic Records. The limited edition box set of the album gave Hawthorne his first Grammy Award nomination for Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package in 2014.

Reception

How Do You Do received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[9] AllMusic editor David Jeffries commented that Hawthorne's songwriting ability compliments his "adherence to an aesthetic" and "love of nostalgic soul", and stated, "that the man sounds more natural and loose than on his debut might be this album’s greatest asset, making the vulgar drops and other nods to the present feel less mannered than before."[1] Barry Walters of Spin called Hawthorne a "credible crooner" and commented that "his increasingly confident cries and grooves and songwriting aplomb are undeniably pro."[8] Colin McGuire of PopMatters dubbed it "Hawthorne’s masterpiece to date" and stated, "What makes How Do You Do so much better than the singer’s debut [...] is his foray into up-tempo groove-happy soul music."[5] Los Angeles Times writer August Brown complimented its "fantastic pillow talk" and wrote that the album "splits the difference between the well-ironed soul revivalism of Adele and R. Kelly’s baroquely dirty mind."[4] Brown added that Hawthorne "comes into his own as a vocal powerhouse" and commended the production as "refined and dynamic in a way that’s wholly missing from pop radio."[4]

However, Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe found Hawthorne's singing "technically poor" and marred by a "shaky sense of pitch".[7] Keefe noted its musicianship as "simply flawless in recreating a '70s-era R&B groove" and stated, "Hawthorne just doesn't have the vocal chops to pull off an otherwise solid album."[7] Rolling Stone writer Chuck Eddy found "Hawthorne's oldschool pop-R&B homages [...] so meticulous that it's tempting to overrate his pipes", and concluded, "Don't expect emotion for the ages, and you'll have fun with this."[6] In his consumer guide for MSN Music, critic Robert Christgau gave the album an A- rating,[2] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction".[10] He called the album a "civically revivalist Motown/Ford homage" and stated, "What we're hearing here is the Temptations turning into the Delfonics—the way his midrange gives up the verse and his falsetto takes the chorus is as nice as his boyish sexism."[2]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mayer Hawthorne (Andrew Cohen) except as noted. 

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Get to Know You"    4:40
2. "A Long Time"    3:41
3. "Can't Stop" (featuring Snoop Dogg)Hawthorne, Snoop Dogg 3:57
4. "Dreaming"    3:40
5. "The Walk"    3:38
6. "Finally Falling"    3:20
7. "Hooked"    2:32
8. "Stick Around"    2:57
9. "The News"    1:37
10. "You Called Me"    2:32
11. "You're Not Ready"    3:01
12. "No Strings"  Hawthorne, Michael David 3:48
13. "Henny & Gingerale" (iTunes Bonus Track)  4:14

Personnel

Credits for How Do You Do adapted from AllMusic.[11]

Musicians

  • Joseph Abrams – Bass
  • Hubert Alexander – Piano, Piano (Electric)
  • Rebecca Bowman – Finger Snaps
  • Jamall Bufford – Finger Snaps
  • Kenza Chaouai – Handclapping
  • Dennis Coffey – Guitar
  • A. Cohen – Composer
  • Roman Gianarthur – Strings
  • JimiJames – Vocals
  • Quentin Joseph – Drums
  • Justin Jozwiak – Sax (Tenor)

  • Stephen Kaye – Strings
  • Jeffrey Klein – Handclapping
  • Quincy McCrary – Piano
  • Topher Mohr – Guitar
  • David Moyer – Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
  • Noelle Scaggs – Vocals
  • Harlan Silverman – Guitar
  • Todd Simon – Euphonium, Flugelhorn, French Horn, Trumpet
  • Snoop Dogg – Composer, Vocals
  • Christian Wunderlich – Guitar

Production

Charts

Chart (2011 - 2012)[12] Peak
position
US Billboard 200 52
US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 8
NZ Top 40 Albums 28

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jeffries, David (October 11, 2011). "How Do You Do - Mayer Hawthorne". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Review. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Christgau, Robert (November 4, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne/J. Cole". MSN Music. Microsoft. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  3. ↑ "Mayer Hawthorne, 'How Do You Do' (Universal Republic)". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.) (1177): 119. October 2011.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Brown, August (October 11, 2011). "Album review: Mayer Hawthorne's 'How Do You Do'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 McGuire, Colin (October 17, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne: How Do You Do". PopMatters. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Eddy, Chuck (October 25, 2011). "How Do You Do". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Keefe, Jonathan (October 9, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne: How Do You Do". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Walters, Barry (October 11, 2011). "Mayer Hawthorne, 'How Do You Do' (Universal Republic)". Spin. SPIN Media. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  9. ↑ "How Do You Do Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  10. ↑ Christgau, Robert (October 15, 2000). "CG 90s: Key to Icons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
  11. ↑ "How Do You Do - Mayer Hawthorne". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Credits. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  12. ↑ "How Do You Do - Mayer Hawthorne". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved 2011-11-05.

External links