Reviewed by George Luke

The cover has the group looking more 9 Teen 9E's than 8 Teen 9D's - dressed up in sharp suits, ray-bans and fedoras, gathered round an expensive limo, the obligatory cell phone in tow. On seeing them, I was reminded of Prince's former sidekicks The Time, and wanted to see if the similarity extended to their music. Well, it didn't - at least not lyrically (this lot only wear the suits, they don't sing about them). Their straight-up message can be clearly heard as their voices harmonise while the Earl J.Wright, Jr. one-man band boldly goes where no MIDI lead has gone before (I still can't believe all those guitars and horns are really a keyboard!). Holy homeboys PID, who appear on the extended versions of "No Not One" and "Let's All Go Back", are on top form, as usual. Best track for me was their interpretation of Carole King's "You've Got A Friend". "9Teen9D's" is a collection of slick, well-produced soul songs that would be at home on any pirate station. Delbert Wilkins would love it-especially those suits.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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