CeeLo Green, Doing it All Together | Track Review 🎵

Grammy-winner CeeLo Green continues his comeback on single, “Doing it All Together,” from his fifth studio LP, CeeLo Green is Thomas Callaway.

Once upon a time, CeeLo Green was “kind of a big deal.” He ended up winning a Grammy for his blunt but totally infectious single, “Fuck You” from his 2010 studio album, Lady Killer.  That wasn’t the only bop from Lady Killer, which featured gems like “Fool for You” and the vintage-sounding “Old Fashioned”. Of course, Green was also a judge on NBC’s The Voice.  However, the prodigious R&B artist endured controversy, and honestly, his career just hasn’t rebounded.  He returns with his first album in nearly five years, CeeLo Green is Thomas Calloway (June 26, 2020), led by singles “Lead Me” and “Doing it All Together.”

Like on “Lead Me” the precedes, on “Doing it All Together,” CeeLo Green continues in a soulful, retro vein.  This perfectly suits his musical persona; his artistry.  Once more, Dan Auerbach ends up being the perfect producer to help craft and construct this ‘old-school,’ vintage sound that Green excels at.  The production is quite colorful, seeking to capture the sounds of the 60s, with the busy, soul groove, keyboards, guitars, horns, and sweet accompanying background vocals. The guitar solo is one of the highlights, by the way! Vocally, Green is on autopilot. Musically, the backdrop is as on-point as well. Lyrically, “Doing it All Together” is simple but quite effective.  I wouldn’t characterize it as a poetic tour de force, but CeeLo certainly gets it done, particularly on the centerpiece, the chorus:

“Promises, promises
You just can’t promise
Then take it away
If you’re a liar
Then just ‘cause you’re beautiful
It’s not okay.”

Final Thoughts

“Doing it All Together” would’ve been a perfect fit for 15 Songs Where We are in This Together! – if only I’d known at the time! Short and sweet, the single is another example of Cee-Lo Green making a potentially successful comeback.  Is “Doing it All Together” the type of record set to ‘kill it’ on radio? Of course not, but for traditional R&B enthusiasts, this should definitely tickle their fancy. Hopefully, CeeLo Green is Thomas Callaway lives up to critical success of “Lead Me” and “Doing it All Together.”

CeeLo Green • CeeLo Green is Thomas Calloway • Easy Eye Sound / BMG Rights Management • Release: 6.26.20

Photo Credits: Easy Eye Sound / BMG Rights Management