专辑简介

by Donald A. Guarisco

This album, a collaboration between Stevie Wonder protege Syreeta and ex-Spinners lead singer G.C. Cameron, attempted to combine the the popular 70's format of the concept album with the kind of duet-styled songs that used to rack up hit singles for Marvin Gaye and his duet partners. Sadly, the concept and songs on Rich Love, Poor Love are too weak too live up to this ambitious concept. The music, all crafted by writer/arranger/producer Michael L. Smith, goes for orchestral soul in the vein of Thom Bell but falls short on several counts. The first problem is the sound is too lush: everything is drowned in strings, horns, and vocal harmonies that bury any possible hooks that might have been lurking in the songs' melodies. This approach is used on every track without variation, resulting in an album that is entirely lacking in dynamics. The heavy-handed feel of the album made worse by Smith's habit of padding out songs with elaborate introductory fanfares and lengthy instrumental fadeouts (the title track is the biggest culprit in this arena, managing to clock in at over seven minutes). Once the listener gets beneath all the elaborate production touches, all that's left is a handful of pleasant but insubstantial soul songs that either rely on endless repetition of their titles ("Love To The Rescue") or serve as melodically-flimsy excuses for improvised musical ad-libs between the Syreeta and Cameron ("You Need A Change"). The one song that distinguishes itself is "All Things Happen For A Reason," a sugary-sweet ballad reminiscent of Peaches and Herb's lovey-dovey hits that is built on a memorably pretty chorus. Syreeta and Cameron approaches these songs with sincerity and professionalism, but they lack the kind of vocal chemistry that made Marvin Gaye's duet hits work. Ultimately, they end up fighting a losing battle against the overbearing production style. As a result,Rich Love, Poor Love can only be recommended to 1970's soul music completists.