Wicked & Wild (VP, 1990)

A nondescript group of dancehall songs, none of which are bad, but non of which are good.  Sanchez performs his usual array of cover tunes -- at least 6 of the 10 tracks are remakes -- the best being "Teenager in Love" and his "Wild Sanchez" medley (although "One in a Million" was also popular).  For the most part, though, only his attractive singing voice and street Romeo style carry him through this largely pedestrian material.

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One in a Million: The Best of Sanchez (VP, 1997)

As far as I'm concerned, Sanchez is the unofficial King of Covers, and his Puff Daddy-esque ability is on full display in this collection.  No less than 10 of the 19 tracks here are remakes -- and probably more, but I don't know all of the songs well enough to confirm that.  One cut, "Brown Eye Girl," is actually 3 remakes in one!  It is a tribute to Sanchez' appeal and talent that he can make many of these songs work (although a few don't).  The key, I believe, is three-fold: he has a good, attractive voice and vocal style, he has quality producers (from King Jammys to Bobby "Digital" Dixon to John John to Phillip "Fattis" Burrell to Donovan Germaine), and he chooses tunes to remake that generally aren't too popular (like "Old Friends," "Are You Still in Love With Me," and his smash "I'm Missing You," a Michael Bolton -- ech -- tune), so that they sound just familiar enough to be appealing and not so familiar as to be stale.  His best re-workings here include "Wherever I Lay My Hat," "Soon As I Get Home," "Brown Eye Girl," and, of course, "I'm Missing You," which easily out-performs the original.  Still, on One in a Million, Sanchez shows that he can created wonderful originals (at least, I think they are originals), such as "Brown Eyes" and the rare non-love song "Never Dis the Man," a superior mid-tempo jam that was one of the best reggae songs to come out in the '90s.

The Golden Voice of Reggae (World, 1997)

Like him or not, it's hard to deny that Sanchez has a "golden voice."   It's at once smooth and anxious, silky and emotional, able to elevate mediocre material to good songs (well, sometimes).  The first 4 tracks on The Golden Voice of Reggae are vintage Sanchez: buttery lovers rock with a hint of dancehall.   It's not just the voice that elevates "Melt Away," "Baby Come Home," "Pretty Darling," and "After You Who Could There Be," but also the sweet, irresistible, well-crafted melodies.  This album showcases Sanchez' underrated writing talents, as he relies on cover material for only a few tracks.  In fact, some of the weaker cuts -- "Jealousy," the non-reggae ballad "Christmas Time Is Here Again," and "You Saw the Best in Me" (AKA Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me") -- are remakes.  Apart from the opening quartet of tunes, only the cultural dancehall of "Alpha and Omega" and the R&B-edged lovers dancehall of "Broken Hearted" are the only ones that stand out, but Sanchez fans will still find enough quality material here to satisfy.

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True Identity (VP, 1999)

For those critics who have dismissed Sanchez as a talent-challenged cover artist, run out and get this album immediately.  He proves his mettle here by delivering this wonderful 12-track album, 10 of which are original songs!  Co-written by Fitz Livermore (who penned "Perilous Time"), the tunes on True Identity are filled with emotional vocals, strong yet simple melodies, and the kind of straightforward, old-fashioned dancehall and lovers rhythms that made Sanchez famous.  "I'll Always Be True," for instance, is vintage Sanchez, his buttery sound setting the mood like a Jamaican Luther Vandross.  Of similar quality are lovers cuts "I Care For You," "Hurry Up," and "Sha La La La," while "Lonely" (not his '80s hit), "I Remember You Honey," and "Thank God You've Grown" feature more up-tempo dancehall riddims softened by the singers' vocals.  He even finds time to get a little cultural on the roots duet with Yami Bolo "You've Got the Right" and on his funky remake of Bob Marley's "Burning & Looting."   Hopefully, Sanchez will maintain his "true identity," because this is one of the best albums I've heard from him yet.

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Simply Being Me (VP, 2000)

A sub-par effort from Sanchez, Simply Being Me features what you'd expect from the veteran crooner -- laid-back lovers rock with covers a-plenty -- but without the magic that he's shown in previous albums.  Part of the problem is the choice of songs that he remakes; Brian McKnight's "Back At One," Donnell Jones' "Where I Wanna Be," and Gilbert O'Sullivan's Beatle-esque "Alone Again (Naturally)" don't strike me as particularly adaptable to a reggae rhythm, and it's a testament to Sanchez' appeal that he makes "Back At One" and Britney Spears' (!) "Sometimes" so genuinely likeable.  His version of R. Kelly's "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time" is likewise nice, but it is a pair of originals -- the emotional title track and the surprisingly up-tempo ska tune "Forever and Ever" -- that stand out in quality.  The other 7 originals, however, sound too much like "Sanchez by the numbers" and thus they ultimately fall flat.

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Stays On My Mind (VP, 2002)

After putting out two of the best albums of his career a few years ago in Perilous Time and True Identity, Sanchez has in the past two years released a couple of albums that have been artistically D.O.A.  Following on the uninspired heels of Simply Being Me comes Stays On My Mind, which equally feels like Sanchez by the numbers.  You know, throw in a bunch of lovers rock covers, add a few light dancehall originals, maybe an old-fashioned rock steady tune or two, and ta-da release it to the unsuspecting public.  Although Sanchez has always performed an inordinate number of remakes, he's also always been one of the most adept at doing so.  That's why the sheer crummy-ness of the covers on this album proves so disheartening.  His covers of R&B ballads like Muziq's "Love," Sisqo's "Incomplete," and the Dells' "The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)" are pedestrian and dull, while Usher's "You Got It Bad" should never, ever, ever be made into a reggae song.  Only his covers of the bouncy Hopeton Lewis hit "Grooving Out On Life" has any "life," and even that is pretty straightforward.  Of the original songs on Stays On My Mind, few pack a punch -- most notably "Frenzy" (which was featured on Reggae Gold 2002), "How Could You," "The Way Life Is," "Sha-La-La" (which is oddly also on True Identity), and "Discipline Child," a soft, poignant reflection on the life of a death row inmate.  I suppose big Sanchez fans may find what they want here, but casual fans beware.