CrazySexyCool

by

TLC

Edit

After the unexpected success of their first CD OOOOOOOHHHH....ON THE TLC TIP, people were wondering if TLC could rise to the occasion the next time around. Well, they didn't. They SURPASSED it with CRAZYSEXYCOOL. They left the tomboyish image behind and presented themselves as mature young ladies, and became the biggest selling female trio in music history (as far as albums go...the Supremes still hold the record for most singles by a female trio). From the time you hear T-Boz's sultry alto vocals croon "Oh wha, oh wha, oh wha" on the first single from this CD, "Creep" you're hooked, and it only gets better as it goes on.

You can listen to this CD, which mixes the sounds of hip-hop, old school soul, new jack swing, funk and gospel, all the way through and not find a bad cut in the bunch. I loved everything on it, my favorites being the aforementioned "Creep", "Kick Your Game", "Case Of the Fake People", "Diggin' On You", the red-hot "Red Light Special", the thought-provoking smash "Waterfalls" (why can't I get the image of TLC standing on water out of my mind?), the funky "If I Were Your Girlfriend" (T-Boz does an excellent job on this remake of the Prince classic), "Switch" and "Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes". No doubt this CD is already a classic, and will continue to be. This CD is one that should be in every household. T-Boz, Left Eye (R.I.P. Lisa aka the Supernova, we love you) and Chilli will forever be CRAZYSEXYCOOL.

Surprisingly, TLC remains as popular as they've always been, even after the tragic ending of Lisa Lopes. Nevertheless, the music showcased the full bloom of the beginning of the girl groups of the 1990's. Tionne, Rozanda and the late Lisa can always still hold their heads very high.

The 1994 album, CrazySexyCool, showed a very quick change in the style and music of TLC. They went from acting like the male Hip Hop artists of the time, including M.C. Hammer, and Dr. Dre, to showing a misty and incredibly dynamic change to the music. Songs like Waterfalls, Creep, and the erotic Red Light Special, still show a lot of promise in their legacy. In this record, Tionne shows the lead mostly all of the recordings, where on the previous album, the late Lisa Lopes was the head of the album. Nevertheless, the music was really all that mattered.

It still may come as a surprise, if TLC can still showcase the talents they've always maintained with all those corny pop acts like Destiny's Child, and Blaque. All that can still be displayed, is the music of TLC's legacy.