Every story has an arc, and love stories are no different. There's the initial encounter, the flirtation, the first date, the escalation, the passion...and then the map gets a little fuzzy. What comes next is hard to predict - rock-solid commitment and eternal devotion for some, disillusionment or even betrayal for others. Some stories end happily ever after, some not so much.

Vocalist Will Downing has a tale of love to tell. It may or may not be based on a true story, but it's one that we've all lived through at one time or another. Downing's version, Lust, Love and Lies (An Audio Novel) - which he fondly calls "an audio soap opera," complete with intermittent vignettes of intimate conversations that help move the story along - includes elements of comedy, tragedy and all the subtle shades in between.

"This record had actually been coming together in my mind for five years," says Downing. "I just didn't know how to go about it at first. Then when I first started writing the songs, it started to make sense as a story. I'd never made a record like this before. I had always sort of erred on the side of caution and safety when making records. This was the first time I said, `You know what? Let's just do something completely different.'"

Aided primarily by co-producers Rex Rideout and Chris "Big Dog" Davis (who also plays keyboards throughout the set), guitarist Randy Bowland and bassist Anthony Jackson - along with a number of guest players and vocalists - Downing settles into a groove that's more straightahead R&B than any of his recordings to date.

"I think people sometime don't know how to categorize my music," says Downing. "It's soulful, but it's also slightly jazzy. It's a blend of so many things. But I think this album solidifies what I'm doing and where I'm going. It locks into a groove and says, `Okay, this is an R&B record.' It'll be interesting to see how longtime listeners react, and whether any new folks will come on board.", ISBN13: B003WKA84I ISBN10: B003WKA84I Material Type: audioCD