Changing Faces

Q (12/94, pp.128-9) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...doesn't quite maintain the hit's (`Stroke You Up') quality, but they have a mighty crack at it....They trade lines like sophisticated fishwives, always at full tilt, yet always in control..."

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