By the time she released
Flame in 1997,
Patti LaBelle had settled into a comfortable, reliable groove. Following her mid-'80s comeback,
LaBelle gradually moved toward a neo-sophisticated, laid-back, adult contemporary style that only occasionally touched on urban soul. Which means
Flame is largely a slick, seductive collection of ballads punctuated by a handful of restrained dance-pop numbers. And in that sense, it's no different than any of her '90s albums, but that isn't a bad thing, since
LaBelle works with top-notch, classy professionals. A team of producers -- including
David Foster,
Gerald LeVert,
Arif Mardin and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis -- worked on
Flame, but instead of making the album sound diverse and sprawling, their highly skilled craftsmanship keeps the album unified. All that effort makes the record a pleasurable, listenable album, yet there aren't enough killer hooks or great songs to make it a standout in
LaBelle's catalog. Instead,
Flame is merely a good
Patti LaBelle record, and sometimes that's all you need. ~ Leo Stanley