Al B Sure - In Effect Mode (RNB)

1. Nite And Day 

 2. Oooh This Love Is So 

 3. Killing Me Softly 

 4. Naturally Mine 

 5. Rescue Me 

 6. Off On Your Own (Girl) 

 7. If I'm Not Your Lover 

 8. Just A Taste Of Lovin' 

 9. Noche Y Dia 

 "In Effect Mode" was released in 1988, the year in which New Jack Swing was starting to bloom, but to call this album merely a New Jack record is to do both the LP and Al B. Sure a disservice. It's more than a great album-- it's a textbook lesson on how an r&b record is done. A CD with a mere 8 tracks with no samples is pretty unthinkable in today's creatively bankrupt music climate, but "In Effect Mode" is a triumph of quality over quantity. Sure sings these songs in an impressive style that distinguishes smooth from slick; the ballad "Ooh This Love Is So" is faultless and honey-smooth, while the hit single "Night and Day" still sounds like it could have been recorded in 1998 and not 1988. But just when you think Sure can't top himself, we move on to the second half of the disc, which gets more uptempo. "Rescue Me" and "Off On Your Own Girl" are New Jack at their finest; the beats still have bite and the rhythm has roll. "In Effect Mode" is a stroke of r&b brilliance that many of today's upstarts would do cartwheels to achieve. It's a collection of finely crafted jams that serve as a reminder of how records used to be made.