 Shanice: 21... Ways To Grow (1994, Motown) This CD
features a very unique bluesy-funk song which is still growing on me; I Like. It also
has a great dance track in I Wanna Give It To You, and some worthwhile tracks
in Turn Down The Lights, I'll Be There, I Wish, Never Changing Love and When I Say That I Love You. Great Shanice
vocals with help from Darryl Simmons, Jermaine Dupri, and Babyface. A great CD, and check out track 15.
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 Shanice (1999, LaFace) Shanice Wilson is back with a new look and sound! The main attraction here is the ballad Yesterday which is just perfection. Wanna Hear You Say and When I Close My Eyes are other stand-outs. This is the most polished and best of the Shanice CDs and one where she contibutes more to the songwriting.
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 SWV-Sisters With Voices: It's About Time (1992, RCA/BMG)
Taj, Lelee and Coco (or Tamara Johnson, Leanne Lyons and Cheryl Gamble; TLC either way),
have some major hits on this debut thanks to Brain Alexander Morgan. He is the writer/producer
behind Weak (with it's unstopable harmonies), Right Here, and gives a smooth vocal himself with the girls on
You're Always On My Mind. Essential for these three brilliant tracks, plus a
bonus Right Here Remix.
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 SWV-Sisters With Voices: New Beginning (1996, RCA/BMG) A
fantastic CD; this could be another groups best of! Every track is good, but You're The One For
Me and On & On stand out a little more along with Use Your Heart, Fine Time,
Love Is So Amazing and Watcha Need. They must have saved up for this release... one of my favorites!
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 SWV: Release Some Tension (1997, RCA/BMG) A Gorgeous collection of new material and collaborations with top rap artists. Rain is another classic vocal harmony showcase. Give It Up with Lil' Kim is the best of the rap tracks IMO, but the others with Missy Elliot, E-40, Foxy Brown, Lil' Ceasar and Puff Daddy are all good to great.
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 Stardust: Music Sounds Better With You (1998, Virgin) This is
what they call a CD single; actually four versions of the title song on this one, but what
a grooving song... There's the basic 4:21 radio edit, a 12" club mix,
and two special mixes; Bob Sinclar Remix, and Chateau Flight Remix. "Features
samples from Fate as recorded by Chaka Khan." I know
nothing about Stardust, I just love this tune!
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 Angie Stone: Black Diamond (1999, Arista) The song No More Rain (In This Cloud) is worth the price of this debut CD by the current Soul Train artist of the year. Green Grass Vapors continues the retro-funk vibe in style. Also liked Heaven Help, Coulda Been You, Life Story and Man Loves His Money. None of the other tracks disappoint.
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  Tamia (1998, Qwest/Warner Bros.) Some great ballads and high quality vocals on Tamia's first release. Imagination was a hit on radio, but I preferred So Into You, Who Do You Tell?, This Time It's Love, and Rain On Me. The remaining tracks are all enjoyable. Quincy Jones and Brenda Richie know how to produce! This is a classic.
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 Tamia: A Nu Day (2000, Elektra) A somewhat disappointing release. A great job covering Love Me In A Special Way, and some honorable mentions, Can't No Man, Stranger In My House and Dear John. The sample on Long Distance Love is laughable in that it has phony surface noise as though it were using a very worn vinyl LP! Too bad, as Tamia's first release is definitely worth having.
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 3LW (2000, Epic/Sony) I finally gave in and picked this up. I still love the hit No More, and was excited to find I Can't Take It (No More Remix with Nas), which is also cool. It is really another song entirely. Is You Feelin' Me, and Playas Gon' Play were pretty good. There is a video and interview you can play on your computer. I liked it!
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 TLC: Ooooooohh... On The TLC Tip (1992, LaFace) This is
how they started. Some great songs like His Story, What About Your Friends,
Baby-Baby-Baby, and Something You Wanna Know. With writers and producers like
Dallas Austin, Jermaine Dupri, Daryl Simmons, Lisa Lopez herself, L.A. Reid and Babyface
(where'd you think LaFace comes from), plus some backing vocals by Debra Killings, what
could go wrong? Oh yeah, and Pebbles did put them together...
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 TLC: CrazySexyCool (1994, LaFace) This was the all-time best selling CD by any female vocal group. It would be hard for it not to be over-rated. Waterfalls is of course a masterpiece, but there is not much else here besides Kick Your Game with Jermaine Dupri. A Babyface song Diggin' On You is okay, as is Creep. Switch is mainly a sample of the bass line of Jean Knight's Mr. Big Stuff repeated. I think the other two releases are better.
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 TLC: Fanmail (1999, LaFace) This really is a great CD. No Scrubs was a huge hit, but my favorite was the smooth Come On Down. My Life, Shout, and Unpretty are all great tracks.
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 Tony, Toni, Tone: Hits (1997, Mercury) An infectious collection of their best, with If I Had No Loot, Feels Good and many others. Little Walter is built out of the familiar gospel song Wade In The Water. |
 Vitamin C (1999, Elektra) A very decent dance CD
with some excellent back-up vocals. Most of the songs are co-written by Colleen
Fitzpatrick herself. Money for example should appeal to anyone, while
Smile is hard to resist, and About Last Night (co-written with
Robbie Neville) is pretty groovy. There are some other good songs such as Me, Myself
And I which takes off from a Santana song 'No One To Depend On'.
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 Wild Orchid (1996, RCA) This debut CD has really grown on me with surprisingly good vocals. These are not the Spice Girls or B-wirched! Supernatural is simply a great funk tune. The River is a deep ballad that really flows, and I Won't Play The Fool, and Talk To Me are good tracks as well. The lead vocals are very strong.
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 Cassandra Wilson: Traveling Miles (1999, Blue Note)
This is a tribute of sorts to Miles Davis... Cassandra has taken some of his tunes
and added her own lyrics, and the two are a good match in Run The Voodoo Down,
and Seven Steps especially. A cover of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time
comes off surprisingly well. Cassandra Wilson has a very expressive voice, at times showing more than a hint
of Nina Simone, and some of her own (non-Miles) creations such as Piper
are excellent as well.
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 Various Artists: Red Star Sounds (2001, Epic/Sony) Incredible array of talents in support of developing urban music. Glitches by The Roots with Amel Larrieux starts it off, you also get Erykah Badu's Today, and Jill Scott's A Long Walk (A Touch Of Jazz remix). Newcomers Eddie Jackson with You Make Me Wanna Smile Again, Don Scribbs with When Your Ups Are Down and girl group Spanish Fly with Don't Stop are all top notch highlights, plus you get Glenn Lewis' hit Don't You Forget It. Nelly Furtado, Macy Gray, India Aire and Stephen Marley are also present.
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