MMA : Myanmar Mp3 - Myanmar Song - Myanmar Music

Crazysexycool was one of those records that defined an era. Few records before it combined hip-hop and classic soul songwriting quite as intoxicatingly or gracefully — the performances and productions were utterly seamless. It would have been difficult to top anyway, but TLC had it doubly bad, since a number of behind-the-scenes problems delayed a sequel for nearly five years. As with any eagerly anticipated record, that follow-up, FanMail, arrived with too many expectations. And initially, it may be disappointing to realize TLC doesn’t forge new ground with FanMail, but after a few spins, it settles in that nobody else makes urban soul quite as engaging as this. Not that it was easy to make this record, as the head-spinning list of collaborators indicates. Almost ten producers worked on the record, all trying to replicate the easy, appealing sound of Crazysexycool. And “replicate” is the right word, since there are no new innovations on FanMail, apart from a few lifts from the Timbaland book of tricks. Nevertheless, that may be for the best, since TLC and their army of producers have spent time crafting the songs and productions, turning FanMail into a record that almost reaches the peaks of its predecessor. By the end of the record, it appears that they can do it all — funky, hip-hop-fueled dance-pop, seductive ballads, and mid-tempo jams — and they can do it all well. Other groups try to reach these heights, but they don’t have the skills or the material to pull it off quite so well. True, the five-year wait felt interminable, and they’re now standard-bearers instead of pioneers, but if takes TLC as long to make a sequel to FanMail, so be it — they have one of the best track records in ’90s urban soul.

How good is TLC? So good that they survive the tragic, early death of a key member — Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes was killed in a car accident during the recording of 3D — with grace and style, turning out a record that sits comfortably next to their modern classics, Crazysexycool and FanMail. Perhaps surviving members Chilli and T-Boz spend a little too much time in the lyrics paying tribute to their colleague, but it’s easy to glide past that and just concentrate on the strong songwriting and stylish production. Like their previous albums, the particulars don’t matter as much as the overall impression. No member of TLC has an astounding voice, but their skills are exploited to the hilt, since the material not only suits them, it’s melodic, memorable, and grows in stature with each play. Best of all, the production plays to the strength of the song, balancing the group’s character and abilities with the hooks and character of the song. Perhaps 3D doesn’t blaze trails like their other albums, but it never plays it safe and it always satisfies, and it’s one of the best modern soul albums of 2002. A bittersweet triumph, perhaps, but it’s better to go out on a positive note.