| Carlene Davis (Island/Gee Street, 1992) It's hard to judge an album that's as much a product of its time as Carlene Davis's eponymous release is...but judge it I shall. It came out at a time when: A) the sample-heavy, electronic Soul II Soul sound was all the rage, and B) major labels were tripping over themselves trying to swoop up dancehall artists in what was to become a new musical revolution. Granted, Island had always been into the reggae sound, but that didn't prevent them from falling into the trap that so many major labels did at the time: grafting the pop/hip-hop/Soul II Soul sound onto their dancehall releases in hopes of crossing over to the mainstream market. Thus, Carlene Davis is inextricably poppy and dated with only about half of its tracks being identifiable as reggae. Even a cover of Alton Ellis's "Cry Tough" feels as much like a go-go cut as it does reggae. And the cheesy songwriting on the album isn't even close to good enough to shine through the production. (Interestingly, though, Freddie McGregor would later cover "Let the Children Play" for the Grafton 4x4 album, making tasty lemonade from this lemon of a ballad.) "Dial My Number" was the biggest (only?) hit here, and it may be the best track, but even it rings like a hollow pop confection. All of the songs on this album meld together in a mass of over-stylized, glossy fluff... Can fluff be glossy? Although Davis recorded a couple of Christian albums prior to this set and has sung exclusively gospel reggae since the mid-'90s, this album is all secular -- no doubt due to its goal of crossing over, but regardless of the message, Davis is certainly capable of better than this. |
| Track Listing 1. Dial My Number 2. Love Was Right 3. Cry Tough 4. Body Massage 5. Sweet Sensation 6. Love Touch 7. Wake Up 8. Let the Children Play 9. Butterflies 10. Hold On 11. Good Time |
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