Staying On Track--in a Laid-Back Way
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*** COLOR ME BADD
“Time and Chance”
Giant
Color Me Badd’s sophomore album is longer on laid-back appeal than substance, but that’s not bad news for fans of the multiracial quartet from Oklahoma City. What the group lacks in Boyz II Men-like command, it makes up for in supple charm.
Veteran actor Ossie Davis’ quietly elegant, spoken intro to the title cut lends the album a bit of heft. The track itself is a languid take on inner-city strife and hopelessness. Nothing about it bears any resemblance to “I Wanna Sex You Up” or “I Adore Mi Amor,” the sensual hit singles that brought Color Me Badd to prominence in 1991.
The vocal group, which worked on this album with a variety of producers ranging from the team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to David Foster, doesn’t show a lot of outward ambition on this record. On repeated listening, though, you begin to notice the subtle, sumptuous craft of several selections, particularly the drama-soaked version of the R&B; staple “The Bells.”
The advances may be slight, but there is a definite trace of maturity here that suggests a more productive future for the young group than might have been apparent on the debut collection.
New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).
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