Never Say Never

by

Brandy

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Top 5 Reasons this is one of the best CDs: 5. Wrote it herself: Brandy wrote almost all of the songs on this CD, which I appreciate musically, because many artists are just in a hurry to make a CD and sell it, so they don't even try to write their own songs. Brandy does try, and succeeds enormously. 4. It's not all happy-ever-after: Too many R&B and pop singers are just spreading around the fake "ooh baby, I finally found you and everything's perfect and we'll live happily ever after together with absolutely no problems at all." Life's not like that, and music is usually about life- at least R&B music is. Brandy covers all emotions: not just feeling happy that you found your "one true love." 3. Good tunes: Not only are the feelings and emotions in the lyrics great, but she has also written great tunes to fit them. Not many song-writers can do both, and it enhances the CD so much. 2. Good Role-Model: Brandy isn't one of those female singers that gets up on stage to show off her body. She is actually wearing real clothes on the CD cover, and the songs aren't sex-centered. 1. All Clean: While keeping the real rythym and blues feel, Brandy still keeps the lyrics clean. There's absolutely no profanity in the whole CD at all. Instead of comparing Brandy with Monica and other female R&B singers, enjoy the music: You can't have too much of a good thing, so why complain about artists singing the same type of music?

I was surprised at how much I came to enjoy Brandy's second album. I originally bought it for what I consider to be the standout track: the first song, "Angel in Disguise" (not released as a single, but frequently played on urban radio). The song is one of the most magical, haunting hip-hop tunes I can ever recall: twinkling, fairy tale-like bells lacing a wistful, bittersweet tale about love and trust, carried along by a skittery but gentle, techno beat that fits in tensely against the lilting sway of the background bells. There are more mainstream tunes on the album, such as "The Boy is Mine," "Almost Doesn't Count," and "Top of the World." There are also some funky, throwaway numbers--"Learn the Hard Way" and "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)"--and stretches of sappy tunes--"Truthfully," "Have You Ever?", "One Voice," "Tomorrow"--but Brandy pours vocal inventiveness and expressiveness into every song on the album, and even the weaker songs are enjoyable after the momentum of the earlier, stronger tracks.

Probably what I like best about Brandy is that she's able, at such a young age (20), to pull off an album like "Never Say Never," with the emotional maturity of many of its songs and the extent of the vocal capacity she's already developed. I hope she'll continue to have a long, productive career.