181. Joe - My Name Is Joe (2000)

One of the smoothest R&B singers going around (now and for the past 15 or so years) is Joe. Joe has always been someone that only the real R&B heads listen to. Not sure why but he has never really managed to break into the mainstream. Maybe thats a good thing. Joe knows his market, he knows what they want to hear and he consistently delivers smooth, laid back tracks that belong well and truly in boudoir rather than the club or the car. This albums choice cuts include 'My Name is Joe', 'Table for Two', '5 6 3' and the duet with Case 'Faded Pictures'. This isn't his best album but it is probably the most representative of Joe's style and so finds itself included on the list at 181.

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182. Dru Hill - Enter The Dru (1998)

Apologies for the lack of updates, christmas time and all that. Anyways...

Dru Hill. I think that of all the Male groups spawned by the success of Jodeci and Boyz II Men, Dru Hill showed the most promise. There wasn't a weak voice among them, their first album was solid from start to finish and they had a somewhat flamboyant frontman that got them the attention any new group needs. So it was somewhat of a disappointment when (in my not so humble opinion) 'Enter the Dru' was released and was kind of, 'meh'. There were a couple of notable tracks on there, namely 'How Deep is Your Love', 'Beauty' and the bangin 'Real Freak'. The rest of the album found itself mired in pretentiousness, and came off as thoroughly pedestrian. The first album sounded like Dru Hill, the second like Dru Hill singing the songs of Diane Warren (or someone). Having said that, even on their worst day Dru Hill can sing circles around 90% of the other male groups out there. So here they are at 182.

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183. After 7 - After 7 (1989) & Takin My Time (1992)

Ok i'm cheating a bit with this post. When it came time to make a decision between these two After 7 albums for entry on the list I simply couldn't choose. Both albums have some great songs on them, both are eminently friendly and listenable and both are equally overlooked.
I've never been able to work out if being Babyface's brothers (well 2 out of 3 anyway) helped or hindered After 7's career. Were they just a poor man's Babyface? The Babyface you listen to when you're not listening to Babyface? Or were After 7 a viable group on their own terms? It's difficult to tell given that Babyface had his
fingers all over all three of their albums but I for one am prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt. I certainly prefer the singing voices of Kevon and Melvin over Kenneth, and when you sit down and listen to these two albums you start to get a real appreciation of just how good they really were. After 7 were a great group and well and truly earn their spot at 183 on the list.

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184. Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It (1995)

If you weren't bumping 'This Is How We Do It' during the summer of 1995, then you must have been vacationing in Kazakhstan or not born yet.... This was a huge album at the time and had a great summertime vibe that really connected with people. Montell was never spectacularly compelling as a singer and yet he has somehow managed to craft and sell some great songs over the course of his career. He has generally gone against the trend of working with every producer and his dog, often electing to craft his own songs. This album doesn't stand the test of time as well as some of his later work but it's great for a trip down memory lane and the title track still gets rotation on the ipod every now and again.

*This version includes an Australian Tour Edition bonus disc.

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185. Allure - Allure (1997)

As I live in Australia I don't get to see many of my favourite R&B groups live. However back in 2000 I had the opportunity to see 112 when they toured here and their support act on the night were a group called Allure. They put on a good show that night and so I have a bit of a soft spot for their debut album. Its not perfect and it is certainly a product of its time, but there are enough songs on here that poke at you till you sing along that it rests easy at 185 on the list.

P.S I paid $75 to see 112 and they sang four songs. I kid you not.

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186. Donell Jones - Journey of a Gemini (2006)

I am a big Donell Jones fan. I actually walked into the show late as my first experience listening to Donell was on his 1999 album 'Where I Wanna Be' (which you will see later on in the list). This album is slightly different to that album in that it isn't primarily produced by Donell himself. When I first heard that I asked myself, Why? Why would a man who is so obviously a talented song writer need any outside help? Well, as it turns out Donell knows Donell. This album is full of top notch tracks and surprisingly a lot of the good tracks are the uptempo ones (see 'Better Start Talkin'). This album would have been farther up the list but for the fact that it is only a year old. How will it stand up in 10 years time? I don't know but for now, I'm diggin' it.

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187. Lo-Key - Where Dey At (1992)

Lo-Key are a strange group. They made some beautiful songs ('Don't You Know By Now', 'Stay Awhile' & 'Hey There Pretty Lady') but they sure surrounded them with some steaming turds. The uptempo songs on this album are like a sad melange of rap and ......well, nothing really. I know that during this particular period of time combining rap and r&b was the thing to do but still...

If this album had've had more songs like the ones above and less 'Lo-Key...Where Dey At' type songs this album would have been a lot higher on the list. That being said, the above songs are just so good that this album gets regular rotation and so finds itself at number 187.

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188. Vybe - Vybe (1995)

This is one album that i cant really say with any certainty is really any good. I like this album but I think that may have more to do with it being something I listened to a lot in my youth (because I didn't have anything else to listen to), rather than it actually reaching any sort of creative zenith or pushing any sonic boundaries. Its just a pleasant little album full of slow to mid-tempo tracks that all meld into one another upon first listen. It has a very summery feel to it (the track 'Warm Summer Daze' might have given that away) which takes you back to a time when music could simply do that and not always take itself so seriously. Unfortunately time moved on and left Vybe stuck in 1995 never to release another album. I almost envy them. *sniff*

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Bonus: Im going to try out the embed video function. If it doesnt work, ill get rid of it..

*edit* didn't work but theres a link anyway!

Video for 'Take it to the Front'

189. LSG - LSG (1997)

The word 'supergroup' gets bandied around a lot these days, but really in the R&B world they don't get much more 'super' than this particular group. As you will come to learn as I progress through my list, I'm an unashamed Keith Sweat fan. He has been plying his trade in the Biz now for around 20 years with a vocal style that is (.....whats a good word......) distinctive, while still being accessible. Personally, I love it and his consistency really is something to admire in this day of one album wonders. So when Keith got together with Johnny Gill, one of the best voices to grace a contemporary R&B album in the last 20 years and Gerald Levert, someone even more prolific than Keith himself, to form LSG, I was there with bells on.
The fact that after that gushing intro, this album ended up at number 189 might tell you something. There are a lot of things to like to be sure. 'Round & Round' and 'My Body' are quality tracks. Unfortunately, as often happens, outside producers were brought into the mix to provide some singles (Puffy and JD, i'm looking at you) and the results were less than spectacular. They aren't bad songs per se, but they weren't what I wanted from an album of these three artists. Still, it's Keith Sweat. And Johnny Gill. And Gerald Levert. So it's on the list.

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Bonus: And heres the second album 'LSG2' for the same reason. RIP Gerald Levert.














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190. Ready For The World - Long time Coming (1986)

Although I haven't been a fan from the beginning (RFTW were a bit before my time) once I discovered them I ploughed through their back catalogue with abandon. Their earlier Prince inspired stuff I can do without, especially (surprise surprise) the uptempo stuff like Digital Display and basically the whole first album with the exception of 'Oh Sheila'. ahem
Anyway, this is the album i'm putting on here at #190, maybe I should rabbit on about it for a bit.....
'Love You Down', 'Baby (Let Me Love You)', 'Long time Comin', 'In My Room' and 'Its All A Game' are just awesome tracks. Ive heard people say that they cant stand Melvin Riley's voice and I guess I can see where they are coming from but to me its what makes these songs what they are. Like Al B Sure a greatest hits of RFTW would read like a guide on how to make a really, really great ballad. I think there are a few modern era artists who could do with a guide like that... (oh god, i sound old).

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Bonus: Their self titled first album from 1985 starring the aforementioned 'Oh Sheila'.



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191. Al B Sure - Sexy Versus (1992)

I first got into Al B Sure through his work with Jodeci so I was quite surprised to find that Al could sing as well. As usual its the slow jams that I like the most on this album. In fact there are quite a few up-tempo jams which consistently get the FF button. Nevertheless, 'Right Now', 'Natalie' and 'Thanks for a Great Time Last Night' more than make up for any shortcomings. Despite the fact that this is the only album by Al B Sure on the list, he and Kyle West have had a hand in many more albums to come on the DID200.

*Split archive for this one, sorry folks.

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Bonus: Al B Sure's second album 'Private Times and the Whole 9!'. This album also has some nice tracks and could easily have replaced its companion above. Matter of fact, a Greatest Hits from Al B would be pretty cool....



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