Since his 1988 debut with the R&B smash Make It Last Forever, Keith Sweat has attempted, with six platinum-plus solo albums, the transition from New Jack swinger to old-school balladeer. Though not technically the best singer of his generation—he lacks Luther Vandross's swoops and Babyface's grace—he has compensated with a pleading emotion and urban Everymanliness that has connected with homies and wannabes alike. Now 44, Sweat's age is beginning to show a little. Here he spends much of the first half of the disc trying to prove he's as hip as any hip-hopper, even bringing in rappers Busta Rhymes and Rah Digga for musical support. But then he hits his groove with a string of trademark slow jams. Best are "Real Man," "Games" and the duets "Don't Have Me," with David Hollister, and "I'll Trade (a Million Bucks)," with Lil' Mo.
Bottom Line: Ballads work up the real Sweat
Dream (Bad Boy/Arista)
Here we go again: four photogenic, dance-crazy California teens; sleek production numbers; and a catchy bubblegum sound. Only this time the Dreammarker is not your usual white-bread pop producer but hip-hop impresario Sean "Puffy" Combs. And as the first all-white pop act signed to the label that launched the Notorious B.I.G. and Lil' Kim, these girls have a lot to live up to.
The CD gets off to a cheesy start, as each of the band members—Holly Arnstein, 15; Melissa Schumann, 16; Ashley Poole, 15; and Diana Ortiz, 15—introduce themselves by name. But Mouseketeers these girls are not. As may be deduced from their not-that-innocent come-hither looks, the Dream team can sound decidedly adult. "You can pout your cherry lips/ Try to tempt him with a sweet kiss," sings Arnstein, a Christina Aguilera soundalike, on the hot-and-bothered hit "He Loves U Not." Far more fun are a melodic blue-eyed soul cover of New Edition's "Mr. Telephone Man" and the refreshingly innocent "How Long," on which, thankfully, the girls sound their age.
Bottom Line: Not exactly the sweetest Dream
Etta James (Private Music)
Sounding as sexy and full of sass as she did nearly half a century ago, when she helped invent rock and roll with her bawdy 1954 classic "Roll with Me, Henry," James proves that she is still a musical force of nature. Here she is backed by Mike Finnigan's surging Hammond B3 organ, one of the few instruments that can compete with her deeply funky vocals. Her voice modulates from bedroom purrs to barroom howls as she covers tunes by soul greats Otis Redding ("Hawg for Ya"), Al Green ("Rhymes") and Ray Charles ("Come Back Baby"). Straying far from the CD's titular idiom, she also gives her full-throated gospel-rock treatment to Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" and the Rolling Stones' "Miss You." The sound of a motorcycle engine kick-starts this album. It's an unnecessary effect. Etta's voice is a powerhouse unto itself.
Bottom Line: Oh, Mama!
K-Ci & JoJo (MCA)
Album of the week
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JoJo and K-Ci Hailey made their mark as one half of the boy band Jodeci. But with Jodeci on extended hiatus, the brothers have been singing a slightly different tune. The Hailey's 1997 maiden solo project, Love Always, showcased the duo's softer side and, propelled by the No. 1 pop smash "All My Life," helped the once rough and rugged twosome reach out to a wider audience. Here, on their third album as a duo, the soulful sibs once again deliver rich, gospel-infused lead vocals, soaring harmonies and smartly crafted, emotionally evocative songs. Hip-hop producer Timbaland gives a modern urban edge to tunes such as "Game Face," which harken back to the 1960s Motown heyday. But romantic balladry is the main order of business here. On tracks like "Crazy," K-Ci and JoJo stake their claim as the best R&B singers of the hip-hop era. Unfortunately, the brothers show signs they may not be entirely domesticated. According to Los Angeles police, 31-year-old K-Ci (né Cedric; brother Joel is 29) may face indecent exposure charges for dropping his pants in front of an L.A. audience of mostly teenage fans and their parents on Dec. 16. It was precisely the wrong kind of exposure.
Bottom Line: Sumptuous soul
Medeski Martin & Wood (Blue Note)
Keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Billy Martin and bassist Chris Wood first recorded the adventurous spirit that informs their live performances in 1992, with their acclaimed Notes from the Underground. Subsequent albums found the improvisational jazz musicians delving deeper into other genres, especially techno. Here they work elements of hip-hop and the blues into the mix, but the results are somewhat disappointing. The opening beats of "We Are Rolling" are fractured almost beyond comprehension, while "Partido Alto" and "Note Bleu" seem overly tame. On the whole, this music, while expertly performed, is not the improvisational masterpiece that their most fervent fans know the group have in them.
Bottom Line: Maybe next time
>Tonic's Emerson Hart
With its cult following, the country-tinged pop-rock band Tonic is accustomed to playing to rowdy fans. But nothing prepared front man Emerson Hart, lead guitarist Jeff Russo and bassist Dan Lavery for the music-starved crowds that greeted them at U.S. Army bases in war-torn countries such as Kosovo and Bosnia, where the band completed a recent monthlong USO tour, followed by a stint at the base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. "We spent hours after every show signing autographs for the soldiers," says Hart, 31. "They would just put their M-16's on the stage, so as not to make us nervous."
For the trio, whose most recent album, Sugar, was released in 1999 as the follow-up to their 1997 hit "If You Could Only See," the USO tour was an eye-opener. "We saw burning houses and mass graves," says Hart, a New Jersey native whose mother, Sandra Hart-Rand, was a host on the kiddie television show Romper Room and whose late father, Jennings, was a USO musician in Korea. "It was a big honor to give back to the people who are risking their lives there every day," says Hart. "I guess I'm a bit of a patriot."
Read Chuck Arnold's Music Buzz column at www.people.com or AOL (Keyword: People)
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Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
