Love Behind the Melody (2008)

RAHEEM DEVAUGHN Love Behind the Melody just wasn't made for these times — but it's an album that's built to last

Maryland's Raheem DeVaughn doesn't sound much like a contemporary R&B star: His second LP, Love Behind the Melody is almost devoid of oversexed squeals and strobing synths. Instead, he wraps his tenor around unusually sincere ballads like ''Friday (Shut the Club Down)'' — a riff on the Temptations' ''My Girl'' — and Grammy-nominated teaser single ''Woman.'' Had he been born a few decades earlier, he could have been a major pop sales force. For now, he'll have to settle for making music that transcends today's commercial rules. A-
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