Thirteen years is a long time in urban/R&B circles, which leaves the rangy career of
Brian McKnight sounding like the work of several different artists when compiled in a package like
From There to Here: 1989-2002. Most of his material has the sound of soulful adult contemporary, as on quite a few tracks compiled here: "One Last Cry," "Crazy Love," and "Love Is" (the latter featuring
Vanessa Williams).
McKnight also proved amenable to adding hip-hop beats and contemporary productions comparatively early in his career, and the collection follows this angle as well. The song selections are quite good, ably showing
McKnight's technically perfect and artistically pleasing voice to good effect. What makes this a better compilation than ones on most other artists is the fact that
Brian McKnight albums tended to have far too much filler to justify getting into the records on their own. One quibble, though: this would've been the perfect disc to anthologize his popular version of the Christmas chestnut "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." ~ John Bush