Various Artists
Covering the classics is risky: Remain too faithful to the original and you're accused of coasting. Stray too far and you're guilty of sacrilege. Often the safest place is on middle ground. Unfortunately, most of the contemporary artists on New York Undercover—a soundtrack for the FOX cop series—stick to the extremes. Xscape blunts its edge for a rote version of DeBarge's "All This Love," while Brownstone turns bland, reigning in its choirlike harmonies on the Emotions' hit, "Don't Ask My Neighbors." Only Teena Marie, tackling the Rose Royce recording "Wishing on a Star" with her patented operatic soulfulness, manages to transcend her source material. (MCA)
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