This Atlanta bred foursome caught fire in the early '90s just as the R&B harmony craze was reaching a fever pitch; launching
Keith Sweat's Keia label,
Silk scored a monster hit in 1993 with "Freak Me" and hung throughout the decade with a handful of other memorable charting songs. Though the trend that fostered their success was long over,
Silk was still around in the 2000s, though their albums were independently released and somewhat under the radar. Shanachie, a label noteworthy for great R&B influence, smooth jazz, and creating great old-school R&B cover albums, was the perfect home for the group to record
Always and Forever, an ode to some of their favorite artists, some from before their time (
Blue Magic) and others who scored hits during the same era (
Al B. Sure!). Keeping the spotlight on those million dollar harmonies,
Silk pays its best homage when mixing contemporary funk rhythms with creative harmonic mixtures (including cool vocal percussion textures) on tracks like "There Will Never Be,"
the System's "Don't Disturb This Groove" and
Shalamar's "A Night to Remember," but they're also dynamite on traditional R&B productions of
Prince's "Adore," "Sideshow" and "Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)." That's one of three Rod Temperton tunes in the mix, showing the composer's incredible influence on the modern R&B genre This exciting disc isn't about making a comeback, it's about showing love for the music that inspired
Silk's heyday in the first place. ~ Jonathan Widran