Faze Action's second album doesn't make any huge strides from the first, though the brothers Lee have expanded not only their production sense but their range. As on 1997's Plans and Designs, all of the tracks are heavily indebted to the softer side of the '70s rare-groove triumvirate: disco, Latin, and jazz-funk. Vocalists like
Zeke Manyika (on three tracks) and
Vanessa Freeman (on one) make for a more varied ride, and the grooves are deep and plentiful. The result is a very well-done coffee-table album, but again
Faze Action never aspires to the heights of a listening experience that's actually diverting. ~ John Bush