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I was not very familiar with Soul II Soul before I bought this album, except for the awesome hit "Back To Life". I found that for soulful club/dance music, this album is hard to beat. The production and vocals are excellent. This band was clearly very influential in the late 80's, early 90's, because I hear echoes of their sound in the work of other artists of that era. The piano is typical of the club music of the period from bands such as Deee-Lite. The beats and other instrumentation (bass and strings, for example) call to mind albums from artists such as Madonna and Lisa Stansfield. And some of the vocals and harmonies remind me of those of En Vogue. Since I like all of those artists I named, it's no surprise that I like this album.
While some of the tracks are similar in style to "Back To Life", others are notably different. Sections of "Get A Life" are in the form of a poetic conversation, and the lyrics encourage us to "elevate your mind, free your soul...be selective, be objective, be an asset to the collective." "A Dream's A Dream" features several distinctive vocal lines which interact and blend with great finesse. "Joy" is a solid driving track with another positive statement: "Joy is a new sensation, new vibration, rocking the Nation." "Love Enuff" is perhaps just a shade "harder" in sound than the other tracks; also it is the one that reminds me of En Vogue more than any other. The last track, "African Dance", is an instrumental that lives up to its name, featuring jazz-infused music and ethnic beats. Although there is a lot of energy and variety happening on these twelve tracks, the overall smoothness of the production and the many positive messages make the album a rather soothing, hypnotic experience.
