When
The Adventures of Stevie V was released in 1990, Stevie V was often confused with another dance-oriented artist,
Stevie B, but they definitely weren't the same. While
B's focus was
TKA-ish Latin freestyle music, the very different V was a British producer/mixer who favored a more house-influenced approach. Combining elements of house with hip-hop and late-'70s-type disco, V turns the mike over to various female singers (the inadequate liner notes fail to specify who they are) with generally likable results. Some of the most memorable dance music and R&B of the late 1980s and early 1990s came out of England, and while V isn't in a class with
Soul II Soul's Jazzie B, this CD was a noteworthy contribution to the Afro-British scene. Inviting tunes ranging from the melancholy "Indecision" and the world-weary "Dirty Cash" to the dreamy "Butterflies Are Free" show that V favored substance as well as style. Sadly, V couldn't get arrested on urban contemporary radio, although
Adventures did well in clubs. ~ Alex Henderson