The opening song is possibly the most radio friendly, that being “Let's Dance”, a ditty which is written by Nicki along with Dinky Binghasm and Joel “JK” Kipnis. Don't fret about the rap at the start by 'LAW', this doesn't feature much so begs the question what was the point? Still, the groove is funky and would not be out of place on a Family Stand album. There's a serious groove here, and woe betide any Ne-Yo fans who cross it's path! The following cut, “Why You Wanna Hurt Me So Bad?”, is another tasty effort – the music here is programmed by Nicki herself, but the style more akin to what she was doing back on Atlantic in '91. Excellent stuff! Fans of TOP will revel in the blinding funk groove of “Check Yourself”. The horns sound as good as ever and Nicki has a whale of a time! I have to pick out “Bring The Love” for being different – this is something that we could have heard in the early 90s and the groove is reminisce of what Randy Muller was doing with Skyy and Robyn Springer. I could even include CeCe Peniston too, actually. Think “Crazy Love” or “Keep On Walking”. Good, eh? For me, though, the scene-stealer is the beautiful, beautiful “Parallel Universe” which reminds me slightly of Janita's “I Only Want You”. This is haunting and gorgeous in the extreme. What a great track and worth the price of the CD alone! Lenny White, Joe Sample and Marcus Miller sound great. The seductive and sexy “In Bed” follows but is woefully short, but is made up by the lovely “Say The Words”, complete with acoustic guitar and birdsong. “Alpha Centauri” is an odd, astronomical, title but fans of Lalah Hathaway's recent work will love this. So, a welcome return and an essential purchase.
Barry Towler