Today, I will review the 2021 album An Evening With Silk Sonic by Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak. Bruno Mars and Anderson.Paak are two artists who arguably don’t have a single miss in their discographies, and for good reason. The consistency of both artists on their solo projects is absolutely off the charts, especially Bruno Mars, who is actively cemented in the mainstream as one of the biggest artists in the world. This dynamic pair are masters at their craft, and it shows with this record holding 4 grammies under its belt. So, how does this album fare 4 years later in 2025?

While not really a song but more of an introduction/interlude type of track, it still sounds very pleasant, and Billy Collins’s feature vocals make it a very memorable introduction that perfectly sets the mood of the album.

Being the lead single as well as the most commercially successful track, “Leave The Door Open” is a well-known song with over 1 billion streams. This is for good reason, however, as it’s emotional and catchy. Bruno Mar’s vocal performance is especially put on display with some of the most heavenly choruses and harmonies on the entire album.

Taking over the spotlight, Anderson .Paak delivers what I believe to be his most memorable performance on the album. His verses are smooth and jazzy and feel extremely satisfying to listen to. This is enhanced tenfold by Bruno Mar’s interjections and choruses. The production also works very well with both artists’ performances, and it’s honestly like this for every song on the album, as the production is absolutely phenomenal.

“After Last Night” remains my most revisited song on the tracklist, even after years. For some reason, while certain sounds and songs age away and eventually out of my rotation in a matter of months, many songs of this album continue to stick with me. The song has some of my personal favorite vocals and production on the project, and the vibe you catch from this song is just unmatched.

Another massive song from the album, “Smokin’ Out The Window” enters the tracklist as the first song with a sadder feel, as previous songs were about the more positive aspects of love while “Smokin’ Out The Window” shifted to heartbreak. However, despite this change, it remains very funky and jazzy. Making it such a great song to play almost anywhere.

Track 6, “Put On A Smile”, is, in my opinion, one of the more underrated songs of the album. The vocals are absolutely smashing by both artists, and it also has probably the best song progression on the album, with some of the most unique key changes I’ve ever heard implemented into its progression.

Heading into another criminally underrated song, “777” shares the same feel and archetype as “Fly As Me”, featuring less vocal melodies and more harmonies to enhance the rapping performances present on the track. It’s confusing to me how this is the least streamed song of the album, as it really stood out to me on my listens of the album.

“Skate” once again features some of my favorite productions, although most songs on the album share a very similar sound that is done extremely well and also intended in order to create a cohesive context for the songs. So, while they all sound consistent with each other, each and every one is easily characterized by its own elements, and you’ll for sure never forget a song. “Skate” is fun, charismatic, and a great addition to the tracklist.

“Love’s Train” is likely my current favorite song off the project, and the fact that my favorite song from the album has changed many times at this point really speaks volumes about the sheer quality and timelessness of the album. “Love’s Train” just has something addicting to it for me that I can’t get enough of. Perhaps it’s more of Bruno Mar’s captivating vocal performances or the dreamy production that shines brighter than ever on this track.

“Blast Off” is a great conclusion to this fantastic album, and it’s no outlier in the sound of the album. It’s probably the jazziest song of the entire album and also features some really cool and psychedelic guitar a bit into the song. As it gets closer to its latter half, it slows down into a more melodic tune to signify the coming closure of the album. Although nit’s ot my favorite, it’s for sure still a great song.

Overall, the consistency of the album makes it very replayable for me, and its cohesiveness makes it hard not to love it, no matter what genre of music you listen to. I first listened to this album first in 2022, and even 3 years later, I still have songs from it in my rotation. The short and sweet record was a perfect continuation for both artists’ careers, giving Anderson .Paak his biggest breakout yet and allowing for Bruno Mars to be most artistically unique era. This album is an amazing example of an album that only tries to do one thing at a time, and Silk Sonic does R&B/soul pretty much perfectly. For this reason, An Evening With Silk Sonic is one of my favorite R&B albums of all time, and if you’ve never listened to it in its entirety, then you should seriously give it a chance.