Soul Flower

Performer: En Vogue
Engineer: Phillip Scott; Steve Counter
Distributor: Bayside Record Dist.

Notes: En Vogue: Rhona Bennett, Cindy Herron, Terry Ellis (vocals). Producers include: Denzil Foster, Thomas McElroy, Troy Johnson, Dwayne Morgan, The Track Headz. En Vogue: Cindy, Clark Terry, Rhona. Personnel: D'Wayne Wiggins, Earl Cooney, Marlon McClain, Steve Counter (guitar); Dorian Cheah (violin); Denzil Foster, Dillion F. Gorman, Phillip Scott, Jara Harris, Thomas McElroy, Troy Johnson , Sauce (keyboards, drum programming); Rochad Holiday, Matt Theriault, Robbie Nevil (keyboards); Rick Campbell (percussion). Liner Note Author: Vannesa Ellis. Photographer: Arnold Turner. Four years after their last true full-length (the nearly Internet-only Christmas album from 2002 barely counts), En Vogue return as independent women, not only in record label but also in attitude. Soul Flower benefits from more of an eye on the groove than on the charts and better than ever tricks from longtime producers Denzil Foster and Thomas McElroy. Within the first five seconds of the album listeners get a slinky shuffle of a beat, '40s-styled harmonies, and a confident, soulful lead vocal. A ton of winning ideas follow, and Foster and McElroy seem to be having as much fun as ever. The 2004 version of En Vogue -- original members Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron with newish member Rhona Bennett -- harmonize as well as the original four, adding a mature attitude that's still sexy and strong. "All You See" is Sex in the City in a song, with the women delivering their "can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em" lyrics in elegant fashion. The plea for men to stop acting like boys on the slinky "Dissed Him" could make the lowliest player straighten up and "Nearly Lost" is a wonderful bit of light chamber funk. This isn't a return to form -- there's nothing reaching for the brassy heights of "Free Your Mind" and nothing as gimmicky as "My Lovin'" -- but Soul Flower finds the band revitalized, learned, and with a whole new set of opportunities in front of them. ~ David Jeffries

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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