Changing Faces' recording career was off to a pleasant, if less than spectacular, start with this self-titled debut album. The name
Changing Faces alluded to changing trends in 1990s
R&B, which was moving away from hard-driving, hard-edged
new jack swing and toward a smoother, softer type of medium-tempo groove. In fact, pretty much everything on this CD (which was produced by
R. Kelly,
Heavy D,
Kenny "K-Smoove" Kornegay, and
Devante Swing, among others), favors a medium tempo -- the New York duo doesn't inundate the listener with either ultra-slow
ballads or fast, danceable material.
Cassandra Lucas and
Charisse Rose, collectively
Changing Faces, are competent singers -- and while slow jams like
"Thoughts of You," "Movin' On," and
"Come Closer" are neither mind-blowing nor distinctive, they're likable enough. Not surprisingly,
"Foolin' Around" and
"Stroke You Up" (both written and produced by
R. Kelly) became major hits --
Kelly was huge in 1995, and his
Isley Brothers-meets-
hip-hop approach was very much in-demand. Even though this slick debut isn't a gem, it let listeners know that
Changing Faces had potential. ~ Alex Henderson
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