Nah, this ain't
the Crusaders, not these rhythm-programmed, synth-laden, groove-less wonders. And in a way, it isn't
the Crusaders; it's
Joe Sample and
Wilton Felder surrounded by keyboardists, percussionists, and other incompatible production trappings, all calculated to create a jazz/R&B hit album with the formulas of the late '80s. But it's mostly not good music even by the formula's standards, and
Sample and
Felder sound like electronically distorted facsimiles of themselves. The drummer du jour this time is John Robinson, who like his predecessors doesn't solve the band's post-Stix rhythm problems. About the only time the record does anything worthwhile is when Brazil's
Ivan Lins contributes a pair of keening cameo vocals (reportedly his first recorded vocals in English) -- but there again, they're chasing a then-current trend, the cresting of the second Brazilian wave. Such is life in the modern world (sigh). ~ Richard S. Ginell