Masterpiece Theatre

Performer: En Vogue
Artist: Bobby McFerrin
Engineer: Steve Counter
Producer: Denzil Foster; Thomas McElroy
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: En Vogue: Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Maxine Jones (vocals). Additional personnel: Kamil Marzette, Bobby McFerren (vocals); Mo Benjamin (various instruments, organ); Dave Meezy (various instruments); James Earley, Dwayne Wiggins, Marlon McClain (guitar); Michael J. Mani (piano, keyboards, programming); Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Mark Lomax (keyboards, programming); Sundra Manning (keyboards); Jaime Brewer (bass); Sauce (programming). Eklypse: Michelle Woods, Robert Page, Tony Woods (vocals). Principally recorded at FM Studios, Emeryville, California. On this follow-up to 1997's EV3 and its panoply of producers that included schlockmeister David Foster and balladeer Babyface, En Vogue reunites with the acclaimed duo of Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy. For its fourth studio album, the trio raises the bar of contemporary R&B by integrating unpredictable classical influences and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross harmonizing into its brand of uplifting soul. The vagaries of romance and relationships are the meat of this sumptuous aural feast, and vocal rounds and snappy arrangements are the driving force behind crackling numbers like "Riddle," and "No No No (Can't Come Back)." Elsewhere En Vogue bridges the gaping chasm between the classical and hip-hop worlds by turning to Bizet's Carmen and a rap from Sol Eklypse for inspiration on the modern urban love tale, "Those Dogs." MASTERPIECE THEATER's centerpiece is the impressive, uncredited "Love Suite," which traces the cycle of a relationship through infatuation, involvement and infidelity. Throughout this piece, Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron and Maxine Jones perform elaborate vocal gymnastics, cleverly invoking shades of Tchaikovsky ("Love You Crazy"), Beethoven ("Sad But True"), and Gilbert & Sullivan ("Love Won't Take Me Out").

Rolling Stone (7/20/00, p.142) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...[They] lace smooth R&B tracks with feisty lyrics. The trio can be both polished and down-to-earth....En Vogue still put on one hell of an act." Spin (7/00, pp.150-1) - 6 out of 10 - "...Fulfills its campy designs....'Those Dogs' deliciously hints at the future in dinner theater this album is designed to postpone..." Q (7/00, p.114) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Cleverly, they...have spotted that classical music is more versatile than George Clinton and James Brown interpolations....Magnificent." NME (Magazine) (5/27/00, p.41) - 7 out of 10 - "...Spectacular and deranged...and even once the bow-tie operatics are over they stay inventive....nobody can beat En Vogue for vocall technique, and the rhapsodic experiments are neo-camp genuis..."

Female R&B foursome En Vogue defined a new image and sound for R&B in the '90s. With the help of producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy (Club Nouveau, Timex Social Club) they combined a sexy girl-group image with '70s soul songcraft and contemporary hip-hop production techniques for a distaff variation on New Jack Swing that was termed "New Jill." They scored a number of big hits early in the decade and broke lyrical ground with "Free Your Mind." Despite time off for solo projects, En Vogue kept following their musical path into the 21st century.

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