Body Talking

by Alex HendersonAlexander O'Neal was among the most exciting male R&B singers of the mid-to-late 1980s, but by the mid-1990s, his popularity had decreased considerably. The late 1990s found O'Neal recording for Ichiban, and he was no longer working with the hit production/songwriting team of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Produced by Billy Osbourne, Nick Mundy and the Kazir/B-Cube duo (among others), Lovers Again isn't as strong as his 1980s work with Jam/Lewis, but isn't a bad album either. Although nothing on this CD is in a class with "Innocent," "Saturday Love" or "Fake," O'Neal demonstrated that he still had a fine voice on decent tunes ranging from the gritty "Do You Right" to the smooth "No One But You." The thing is that when O'Neal was in his prime in the 1980s and had the guidance of fellow Time graduates Jam & Lewis, his albums weren't simply decent -- they were excellent. Not essential, Lovers Again is an album that only O'Neal's more devoted fans will want.