★★★★★
If you're of a certain age (35+) and grew up during in the 80s, then you know that the era had some hallmark trends many of us want to forget (Jheri Curls, parachute pants, neon make-up and hair sprayed-up and teased out of the hemisphere, for starters) -- except for the music. Ghastly fashion choices aside, artists had more freedom to be themselves and record labels still had generous A & R budgets to package and promote their uniqueness to the masses...
- www.soultracks.com
2014-04-18
★★★★★
In the unlikely event that you both don't know and care, I'll note that this is the follow-up cum answer record to 1986's biggest one-shot, Club Vieux's "Rumors." The auteur is rejected Club Vieux svengali Jay King, who proves which half of the one-shot had the professionalism by turning in a listenable as opposed to barely competent album. Why it's a hit album I couldn't tell you--"Lean on Me" cries out for a weathered voice, not fresh beats.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-02-26
★★★★★
By the time the 1990s rolled around, much of the urban contemporary world had pretty much given up on Jay King and assumed that his career was over and done with. Club Nouveau had lost too many key members (most notably, Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy, who were busy working with En Vogue and others), and it seemed doubtful that King's band would make a comeback. But in 1992, King gave it a shot with A New Beginning, which unveiled a new Club Nouveau lineup...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28