25th Anniversary reissue on yellow vinyl - Teddy Riley is an impeccable craftsman and genius of sorts, not to mention a trendsetter. Blackstreet hits the spot with a sleek and inventive progression on the new jack template, sharpening and filling out the sound that Guy made famous. Riley makes sure the beats are hip-hop savvy and the bass is booming, and then slathers squealing synthesizer lines all over them. Frankly, he is not technically a fantastic singer, at least in comparison to his three harmonizing mates, but his voice has such a distinctive character that it has always been entirely ingratiating, making up in expressiveness for any lack in range or virtuosity. The songs on which he takes lead invariably stand out the most and tend to be the most appealing cuts. The glue on the album, though, is the tight four-part harmony singing of Blackstreet, and it leads to some brilliantly catchy R&B tracks, songs that easily stood out in the mid-'90s urban soul crowd.
A1 | Intro (Blackstreet Philosophy) (Interlude) |
A2 | Baby Be Mine |
A3 | U Blow My Mind |
A4 | Hey Love (Keep It Real) (Interlude) |
A5 | I Like The Way You Work |
A6 | Good Life |
B7 | Physical Thing |
B8 | Make U Wet |
B9 | Booti Call |
B10 | Love's In Need |
C11 | Joy |
C12 | Before I Let You Go |
C13 | Confession (Interlude) |
C14 | Falling In Love You Again |
C15 | Candelight Night (Interlude) |
D16 | Tonight's The Night |
D17 | Happy Home |
D18 | Once In A Lifetime (Interlude) |
D19 | Wanna Make Love |
D20 | Givin' You All My Lovin' |