The Tony Rich Project: Words

If ’94 and ’95 were the years that quirky auteurs like Dionne Farris and Des’ree caught the public’s imagination, 1996 may be the year that black male troubadours follow suit by crossing the barricades that traditionally separate soul, rock and acoustic blues. Chief among such contenders is singer/songwriter Tony Rich, a multi-instrumentalist from Detroit whose La Face debut, Words, is a refreshingly thoughtful and unorthodox brand of contemporary R&B.