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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No longer funky, but still Divas, December 31, 2001
The departue of Funky 4th member Dawn Robinson during the recording of this album was a bad sign. Even worse was the fact that she called her new group Lucy Pearl. Not only was she mad enough to leave one of the world's most successful groups, but initial indications of the first single without her (she sings on Don't Let Go - one of the most brilliant songs ever) Whatever, were not good. Fortunately there are plenty of tracks which make up for that song which is very awkward & not very good at all. Let It Flow is En Vogue 2 da max - makes me smile, while Too Gone Too Long is superb. Written by Diane Warren, the gals let rip on an offending lover & mark his goodbiye cards for him. Foster & McElroy only work on part of the album (having co-written & prduced all of the first 2) & if the truth be told, their contributions are slightly lacking. There's not enough grit on them to make them work. The first 7 tracks are really where it's at & if the album was released with only those 7, you would say it's a masterpiece. You're All I Need is uplifting vocally, & Damn I Wanna Be Your Lover is rich & textured. The overall flow of the album is not as layered & quirky as Funky Divas. This has probably been EV's intention - to give their fans something new to listen to. The girls are all loved up & it does show. A few harder hitting trax in the vein of Free Your Mind or My Lovin may have been what the doctor ordered. Still, a commendable work. Worth buying alone for Don't Let Go & Too Gone, Too Long
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3'5 - En Vogue Part 3, January 19, 2008
This album title got a double meaning, it stands for their third album but also the group getting reduced to a trio after the departure of Dawn Robinson. After the magnificient Funky Divas that featured the unmistakable hit singles "Free Your Mind" and "My Lovin (You're Never Gonna Get It)" the band took a 5 year hiatus and alot of things happened in the music industry during that time, their brilliant fusion between R&b, Dance, Hip Hop and Rock was no longer that trendy and 5 years is long enough for any group to lose it's popularity, but the three remaining members do the best of the situation and together with trademark producers Foster/mcElroy they're still able to satisfy most listeners. What differs is that they only produce half of the songs here and the rest is giving to in-demand producers/writers like David Foster, Dianne Warren, Organized Noice and Babyface. "Don't Let Go (Love)" ended up being one of their alltime biggest hits, reaching #2 on the charts and still to this day a very enjoyable power-ballad. Babyface's slick contribution "Whatever" is one the other hand one of his alltime weakest and lack a great hook or melody that his songs normally have. "Damn I Wanna Be Your Lover" sounds almost exactly like "Don't Let Go (Love)" and not too surprsingly it comes from the same producers. Dianne Warren's power-ballad "Too Gone, Too Long" on the other hand is a standout and one of her better songs, eventually becoming a top 40 hit. "Let It Flow" with a guest rap and "What A diffrence a Day Made" is perhaps the closest you get to the sound of their past. Other then that most of this album is adult contemporary ballads and from time to time even a edgy power-ballad. However, there are many good numbers, and En Vogue without Dawn Robinson still manages to make a good album.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Assorted, January 25, 2005
This album get's 3 and a half stars. En Vogue's first attempt at working with new producers is a great idea. The only problem is that they may have chosen the wrong producers to work with (with the exception of Organized Noize.) EV3's standout tracks are "Whatever" produced by Babyface, "Don't Let Go (Love)" by Organized Noize, "Too Gone, Too Long" by David Foster and "Damn I Wanna Be Your Lover" by Ivan Matias. While a good idea to branch out and try working with new producers, some of the producers were unable to capture what En Vogue is capable of and result in producing less than outstanding tracks for the group. Long time producers Foster/McElroy didn't produce as well as they're capable of either.
EV3 - a must have for En Vogue fans. Should En Vogue work with other producers in the future, they should make sure to choose eminent producer's (Organized Noize, DarkChild, P. Diddy, Missy Elliot, David Foster, The Neptunes...)
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