Customer Reviews

Lose Control

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Okay - to get the real flavor of mid-90's soul R&B, along with Shai's "If I Ever Fall In Love" and SWV's "It's About Time", you must get Silk's "Lose Control". Although the album is short, it isn't short on quality jams. This is the best album Silk recorded (sorry fellas); and I'll lay out the best tracks:

"Freak Me" - this song will take you back if you remember it (guaranteed) and still sounds amazingly fresh now, probably because of the way Keith Sweat blessed it.

"Girl U For Me" - great. Angelic actually, and well sung.

"Lose Control" - this was beautiful piano ballad that was never a single, but a pleasant surprise for record buyers in 1993.

"Happy Days" - their first single; didn't do that well, but the beat is funky. I love this one.

The rest of the album is great. Their are only two filler tracks in my opinion, but whatever...now y'all got me reminiscing! But seriously, in the mid 90's (along with trendsetters Jodeci, Boys II Men and TLC) we had a rich dearth of R&B hitmakers, and Silk was definitely near the top of that list.

Looking back at all the CD's that came out in the early 90's, I'd say Silk's "Lose Control" is one of the few that has stood the test of time. The whole CD is worth listening to. Silk is not like H-Town or Jodeci, where you buy the CD for the singles and ignore the rest of the CD, which is essentially filler. Also, Silk's style is true to their name: their soul is smooth, not whiny, like the direction a lot of New Jack groups took.

My personal favorites are "Happy Days", "Girl U for Me", "Freak Me", which is sensual without being tasteless, and "Lose Control".

Silk had an indescribable knack for creating baby making jams. They just did it better than most people coming out at the time and that made them stand out. The title track Lose Control epitomizes this group. Slow, sensual, and romantic type music. They had other hits (Freak Me and It Hat To Be You) and albums but this is the main release that you will need from them as it is their best and contains their best songs. Great 90's R&B!

this is a heavy, heavy album. I first heard this album when I was 13 and the tunes still sound as sweet as ever. I can't belive i found a place to buy it again thank u.

One of the best R&B albums I have heard in a long time, the difference in tracks is fantastic and the album gets better the more you listen to it!!

Lose Control is so so hot. Recently it is my favorite music.
My favorite songs are "Freak Me", "Girl U For Me", "Happy Days" and "I Gave To You".
Happy Days is new jack, funky, nice sound.
Girl U For Me is Fresh, Melodic, Angelic and Love.
I Gave To You is Beautiful keyboard ballad.
Freak Me is 92's greatest single. It is too hot.

lose control was the defining moment for keith sweat as a gifted producer and songwriter. he wrote 8 of the 10 tracks and produced just about every one as well. Not to say that he didnt put together a talented quintet. In fact, they were very polished. The harmony was perfect, and they all had a wide vocal range. This cohesion made for an eponymous debut. Lose control not only had four chart-topping singles ("happy days", (#13 R&b), "lose control", (#4 r&b), "girl u for me" (#4 r&b), but a as bonus, the now classic "freak me" charted #1 on billboard AND r&b charts. It was one of the better releases in 1992, the transitional year from new jack to urban contemporary. This transition was evident, as was the case for most r&b albums released in '92. On tracks like "happy days", "when i think about you", and "baby it's you", new jack is still prevalent. On tracks like "dont keep me waiting", "lose control", and "i gave to you", urban contemporary takes center stage. This switching off of muscial styles makes lose control all the more historic and valuable. As for the album overall, this is first rate r&b, no matter what style. Silk demonstrates their versatility by adjusting their harmony and cohesion on new jack and urban contemporary. Opening up with a pointless interlude, it still sounds pleasurable. Right off the bat, Keith takes you into new jack, singing lead on "happy days". Switching over to urban contemporary on the next track, Gerald makes an appearance on "dont keep me waiting", sounding rich and in prime form. My favorite track, "girl u for me", begins by fading in silk's tight harmony. Each member plays a part in this one, from the bridge at the end to the verses to the refreshing chorus. "freak me" is silk's signature song. its unforgettable chorus, soft-spoken verses, and excellent background singing established silk as a viable outfit in '90s r&b. Returning to new jack on the next two tracks, "when i think about you", and "baby it's you", it's not first-rate new jack, but still very pleasurable. The title track demonstrated that silk can perform ballads just as well, if not better, than uptempo material. Using only a piano and a futile synthesizer, silk truly shines with their smooth harmony and outstanding vocal range, especially at the end where timmy breaks it down just a bit to make the song even more memorable. my second favorite track, "it had to be you", continues along urban contemporary and is enjoyable. it doesn't have a catchy line or beat, but the production is very good, which makes for another enjoyable listen. Rounding out the album is the rendition of "i gave to you". Most of the older crowd remember the delfonics performing it first to perfection. in my opinion, silk comes close, if not duplicating the delfonics' sound, especially with the faceless renditions done by artists of that day. timmy, once again, sounds authentic and rich, and makes for a pleasurable end to a stellar album. All in all, "lose control" established keith as a first-rate producer/songwriter, which he would continue throughout much of the '90s. It was one of the last albums to incorporate remnants of new jack and introduce the new sound of urban contemporary. Lastly, "lose control" introduced the world to silk, and established them as a viable r&b outfit to challenge other r&b outfits of the day for supremacy in the r&b world. This album is for any fan of '90s r&b. whether you are pure new jack or pure urban contemporary, silk has a little something for everyone.

This album is so hot. My favorite song is "Lose Control" and "I gave to you". It has the bumpest beat and lyrics that make you wanna make love to this. I recommend this CD to anyone. To be honest the whole album is hot.

Silk definatly comes through on this album...best album to get if you want some freky deaky action....it's a must buy

In a musical environment when groups like Boyz II Men,Shai,Jodeci and the like were all looking to edge their way onto the charts,music video TV channels and late night circuit during the early 90's how was a group such as Silk supposed to be important even anything at all? Well obviously what had them stand out from the beginning was the not only the fact they were the brainchild of the then relative newcomer to the music world Keith Sweat but also in their presentation. Silk were a lot more urban and sexually charged than the better known (and more popular) Boyz II Men were at the time and their vocal leads and harmonies were a lot more varied and in many cases aggressive. The musicianship seems like a trifle with Teno West and Roy Murray providing instrumentation via keyboards,drum programming and occasionally samples. And after an intro that showcases the groups harmonies they go right into the sleek hip-hop inspired funk of "Happy Days",which very much as En Vogue did that same year was built around James Brown's Payback but this time around Silk and guest Keith Sweat make more prominant use of the songs famous opening bassline. From this point on,in particular syn drum drenched midtempo jams such as "Don't Keep Me Waiting","When I Think About You" and the groups first hit "Freak Me" we find a band presenting something of a vocal quintet version of R.Kelly of his 12-Play in terms of the alternating preoccupation with both sexual aggression and romanticism. Some of the slower songs here such as "Lose Control" have a certain puzzling beggy quality that would be a bit more important to the band later on but as much as the new jack style smooth grooves here are really defining their uptempo contribution to the genre "Baby It's You" is not an unwelcomed addition. With it's shuffling beat and rap insert it does have a mild dated quality but all the same it works even though one might wish the band would return to the more funk inspired hip-hop grooves of the uptempo cuts that begin this album. For the era this album is a pretty strong and varied debut both in vocal and musical terms and introduces a group that did at this point have a lot of potential.