Keep the FaithArtist: Faith Evans
Community Score: 8.57
Faith Evans' second album Keep the Faith was met with quite a bit of anticipation. The album was released three years after her acclaimed, soulful, and raw debut Faith, and in that time she had witnessed the murder of her husband the Notorious B.I.G., which led to the biggest hit of her career (and one of the biggest of the 1990s), the tribute...
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The Miseducation of Lauryn HillArtist: Lauryn Hill
Community Score: 8.32
Though the Fugees had been wildly successful, and Lauryn Hill had been widely recognized as a key to their popularity, few were prepared for her stunning debut. The social heart of the group and its most talented performer, she tailored The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill not as a crossover record but as a collection of overtly personal and...
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The TourArtist: Mary J. Blige
Community Score: 5.00
Soul of a WomanArtist: Kelly Price
Community Score: 6.08
Kelly Price first made her mark as a vocalist on Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money, Mo Problems" and Mase's "Feels So Good," which may give the casual observer the impression that she's a straight-up gangsta. Not so. Price is an urban crooner, much like a streetwise Mariah Carey or a domesticated Mary J. Blige. She has a sweet, smooth voice that's a...
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Greatest HitsArtist: Eternal
Eternal's Greatest Hits may have arrived a little early -- after all, they had only released three records by the time this collection appeared in the fall of 1997 -- but there's no denying that this compilation gets the job done. Eternal's albums were always quite spotty, with the singles shining admist the filler, so the way to listen to the...
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Greatest HitsArtist: Tony! Toni! Toné!
Community Score: 8.00
Although it's a little early for Tony! Toni! Tone! to have a Greatest Hits, this single-disc compilation is nevertheless an excellent summary of their four albums, containing all of the trio's big hits ("If I Had No Loot," "Little Walter," "Feels Good," "It Never Rains (In Southern California)," "Anniversary," "Baby Doll," "The Blues," "Whatever...
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My WayArtist: Usher
Community Score: 8.57
Out to Get'chaArtist: The Fascinations
Where to begin? For starters, this is an almost perfect collection of the Fascinations' work, containing all of their released work for Mayfield Records plus a couple of outtakes-the only thing that might've been better would have been to get the rights to the ABC-Paramount sides, as well. As it is, we're presented with the extraordinarily...
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All Day, All NightArtist: Changing Faces
Community Score: 10.00
Changing Faces' second album, All Day, All Night, finds the group working a musical territory similar to their debut, namely smooth urban R&B with light hip-hop influences. Although the group's material is wildly uneven, the production is stylish and their vocals are strong, making the weak moments tolerable and the best songs quite attractive....
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Share My WorldArtist: Mary J. Blige
Community Score: 7.98
Greatest Hits - JAPANArtist: Eternal
Eternal's Greatest Hits may have arrived a little early -- after all, they had only released three records by the time this collection appeared in the fall of 1997 -- but there's no denying that this compilation gets the job done. Eternal's albums were always quite spotty, with the singles shining admist the filler, so the way to listen to the...
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