AMG Review of Rock Me Tonight

Craig Lytle
All Music Guide

Here on his debut album, Freddie Jackson enjoyed admirable chart success with each of the four singles. The initial single, "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)," was a very rhythmic ballad with an easy-flowing chorus enhanced by some nostalgic lyrics. It hit the ~Billboard R&B charts in April 1985, and stayed afloat for 26 weeks. The song peaked at the number one position, and held it for six straight weeks. Jackson came right back with "You Are My Lady," a romantic and ideal wedding song whose simplicity and substance assisted in its migration to the top spot on the charts, where it had a run of two straight weeks. The third and fourth singles were the dance-oriented "He'll Never Love You (Like I Do)" and the picturesque "Love Is Just a Touch Away." While the beat is aggressive on the former, Jackson's debonair approach to the lyric keeps the song under control. Jackson gently caresses the lyric with his soothing tenor on the latter. Respectively, the songs peaked at numbers eight and nine after 17 and 14 weeks on the charts. The New York native even undertakes the jazz standard "Good Morning Heartache" with a mellow but fiery passion. Jackson's utilization of his vocal skills with much vibrato, which became a signature of his, was very well received.