Jean Carn's lone Motown effort reunites the singer with producer
Norman Connors, whose mid-'70s dates for Buddah effectively launched her solo career.
Trust Me proves some distance removed from the jazz-funk context of their previous collaborations, however, instead couching
Carn's potent vocals in a slickly commercial, radio-friendly setting that casts neither artist nor producer in a positive light. The album's biggest chart hit, a cover of the
Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes classic "If You Don't Know Me by Now" that features
the Temptations on backing vocals, exemplifies all of
Trust Me's flaws:
Carn and
Connors rely on safe, conventional material and saleable gimmicks that render the music absolutely faceless. The album's title is sadly accurate. Rather than going for broke,
Trust Me plays it far too close to the vest. ~ Jason Ankeny