Freddie Jackson is ecstatic. For You, his first album since Transitions (2006) is just out, with lead track "I Don't Wanna Go" returning him to his home on the Billboard r&b singles charts.
"I had to go through a whole situation," he says, by way of explanation for the gap between albums--said situation being troubles with past management and record company. "But good things come to those who wait."
For You is indeed a good thing. It also brings Jackson back under the aegis of producer Barry Eastmond, who helmed his 1985 debut album Rock Me Tonight--which yielded his big breakthough titletrack hit.
"He wrote [Jackson's big 1980s hits] 'Nice 'N' Slow' and 'You Are My Lady'--so many of my No. 1 records," says Jackson. "So I'm back with my hitmaker!"
Jackson himself co-wrote three songs in the new set--"Say Yeah," "After All This Time" and "A Little Taste"--and also served as executive producer.
"That's a big step for me," he says. "It entails a new freedom in that I actually picked the songs and was involved in the recording process the entire time--with final say-so."
With his new-found freedom, Jackson put For You "in today's era" soundwise while staying true to his unique artistic strengths.
"Luther Vandross once said to me, 'We love you for who you are. Always be who you are.' I'm not going to wear my pants over my behind! I am who I am. I can't do songs without melody and a bridge. I'm not trying to act like somebody else, so therefore my music will speak for itself."
With "so much commercialism right now" in contemporary music, "people want to go back to the old landmarks, the old rhythms and melodies," continues Jackson. "They want to hold hands and listen to each other's heart and experience the romance of music. That's what people are looking for, and that's what I'm trying to do."
But Jackson quickly adds, "I can't stand still. I like to keep moving in my career--going forward. Otherwise I get restless!"
Jackson stays active physically, too, thanks to a new focus on health and appearance.
"I work out a lot, but I'm more conscious of what I eat," says a much slimmer Jackson, an excellent cook who's working on a cookbook, Freddie Jackson--30 Days To Romance, matching recipes to 30 of his songs.
"I've always loved to cook--that's how I got so fat!" he says, revealing that he's lost 107 pounds since changing his diet.
"I'm a visible person," he explains, "and people like to see people who are visually appealing. I began to forget I'm a public figure, so I stopped living to eat, and eat now to nurture my body--and I eliminated a lot of things from my life that weren't good for me. I always wore nice clothes but people looked at the clothes more than they looked at me! So I feel a lot better about myself now and get a lot of compliments: Valerie Simpson says she doesn't even see that fat person anymore!"
Harlem native Jackson has known Bronx's Simpson, incidentally, since both sang gospel at the White Rock Baptist Church in Harlem--where songwriter/producer/keyboardist Paul Laurence was also an attendee.
"Paul wrote 'Rock Me Tonight,' and Val taught him how to play piano!" says Jackson. "So I'm forever indebted to the White Rock and to Val."
Jackson pays off his debt with frequent appearances at the Thursday Night Open Mic events at Ashford & Simpson's Sugar Bar restaurant/nightclub on the Upper West Side. Meanwhile, he heads out again with Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson and Howard Hewett on the national Men of Soul tour in February, after breaking for the holidays.
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