Never, Never, Never Shoulda Bought It!
Only two members of the original quartet--Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron--remain on this lackluster release by the Oakland hip-hop vocal group En Vogue. The group is now a trio, with the surviving original members joined by Rhonda Bennett. While their first releases, in the 90s, were joyous and sassy, "Soul Flower" lacks the immediacy and power of that early work. It would perhaps be unfair to catagorize this record as flat-out bad (truly, it's not), but it is the first En Vogue album that I find somewhat forgettable. New fans should begin instead with the girls' stronger efforts, such asFunky Divas, which is still their all-time classic. Also highly recommended areBorn to Sing, andMasterpiece Theatre, the latter setting hip-hop arrangements and lyrics to instantly-recognizable melodies from classical music. All of these albums are FUN--which is precisely what "Soul Flower" tries to be, but isn't.