Masterpiece Theater - En Vogue > Reviews > Back to the Funky Diva's

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money

Advantages:	Great funky beats, Harmony's that have to be heard to be beleived
Disadvantages:	Riddle is a touch repetitive .  Don't buy this album if unless you don't mind hearing Rachmaninov and Tcheikovsky with a modern twist !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

When the En Vogue album 'Funky Diva's' came out in 1993 I was blown away by the hip-hop beats, exceptional singing and harmony, and attitude of the all-girl R&B group. With such great songs as 'My Lovin' (Never Gonna Get It)' and 'Whatta Man' I think Funky Diva's really is a classic album

It had been the first I had heard of the group, even though they had been on the music scene for a few years before then.

After 'Funky Diva's', however, one of the band member's (Dawn) left the group and they had a couple of years in silence.

Then came the album 'EV3' which I personally very disappointed with. It didn't have the same attitude and style as Funky Diva's and I thought there were very few stand-out tracks on EV3.

So, when I heard En Vogue were brining out a new album in 2000 I waited with baited breath to see if this album would be another let-down or a return to old form.

I am very pleased to say that this is as good as, and possibly even better, than Funky Diva's. The voices are stronger, there are some unbeleivable harmonies, and the vibe is definately strong females with attitude!

There are some brilliant tracks on Masterpiece Theatre. My personal favourites are No, No, No (Can't come back), Latin Soul and Beat of Love, all of which are great feel-good, get-up-and-dance tracks.

The other highlight for me is the group of four songs grouped together in the 'En Vogue Love Suite' in which they take classical pieces and put a Funky beat and some stunning vocals on top. Of course, the classical purists will absolutely hate these tracks, but I think they sound pretty hot and I think they're all done with tongue fimly in cheek.

There are no realy downsides to this album, although I feel that En Vogue sound much better when doing fast tracks than the ballads, but then I've never really been into love songs anyway. There are only two or three slow tracks on this album, the rest are great floor-fillers.

This album is a must for anyone who loved the Funky Diva's album, for anyone who loves music in the style of Destiny's Child and TLC, for all the soul fans out there!