In the first of what should become a regular series, the Set List will dissect the credits that fill page after page in the booklets of R&B albums. One after another, R&B albums are the result of assembly lines -  the Berry Gordy idea pushed to extreme.
And with R&B albums resembling the K Cars of the 1970s - that translates to generic and unreliable - there is little sign that R&B will be reclaimed by artists or anyone with their eye on anything except feeding the radio pipeline.
We start with Jennifer Lopez's "Brave," a collection of tracks in which she and her army attempt to make music that sounds something like the work of Beyonce and Shakira. Her voice consistently quivers - there's little command in evidence here - and her talk-sing style gets old quick. (The key credit on the album, and it appears on all 12 songs, is "additional vocal production" by Cory Rooney).
But even with Mr. Rooney enhancing and getting J.Lo's voice in key it takes a village to conceptualize a record. On "Hold It Don't Drop It," for example, the melody and rhythm are supplied by a sample of the rhythm guitar from Tavares' "It Only Takes a Minute," meaning it took seven people to come up with the lyrics and beats. Ouch.