Consumer Guide Album

Blue Magic: The Magic of the Blue [Atco, 1974]
I've never been able to go all the way with groups that specialize in repressed-backbeat falsetto ballads. The few I've liked--only the Chi-Lites and the Stylistics for more than one song at a time--barely redeemed their simpiness by sounding sincere, or do I mean dumb, and in the wake of an inspired debut these hotshots just don't. Instant professionalism, I guess, combined with the usual song fatigue. Recommended only to those who want to know what the Stylistics will sound like after Russell Thompkins gets his B.A. and learns to sing like a sane, responsible adult. C+