If En Vogue looked like one-hit wonders after "Hold On", Funky Divas, their second album, confounded these expectations, and established them as serious contenders. Arguably the first "swing" band to achieve real success in the UK, they have paved the way for future all girl, black groups such as Jade, SWV, 702 and so on. However, this album, produced and arranged as always by Thomas McElroy and Denzil Foster (also responsible for Club Noveau's classic "Lean On Me", as covered in 1999 by 4 The Cause), is too varied to fit totally into the "swing" pigeonhole, including as it does the faux-Parliament heavy riffing of equality anthem "Free Your Mind". One of the best things about En Vogue is the sassy talking interludes between tracks, and this album is no exception. It also includes singles "Giving Him Something He Can Feel", "Give It Up Turn It Loose", and, most notably, the truly marvellous "Never Gonna Get It". -Ronita Dutta.

In light of the un-harmonious five years Melanie, Shaznay, Nicole and Natalie spent together as All Saints, perhaps this anthology should have been titled "All Fights" instead of the more agreeable All Hits. Despite having two massive hit singles in 2000 (with "Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee"), and the release of their second album (Saints and Sinners), the girls' rows were viewed more newsworthy than their continued chart success. From early tunes such as "I Know Where It's At", right through to their appropriately titled final release "All Hooked Up" the quartet produced some of the catchiest hooks in pop. For both their studio albums, they recruited the hippest producers of the time, including Nellee Hooper, Cameron McVey and William Orbit. These "top bods" merged the girls' soulful vocals with the trendiest beats, producing classics such as "War of Nerves" and "Bootie Call". The best of these albums and more are included on All Hits. Also included is Mel's solo collaboration with Artful Dodger ("Twentyfourseven") and two powerful new tracks penned and performed by Shaznay, which are sneakily hidden at the end of a bonus remix of "Pure Shores". "I Feel You" is an epic five-minuter, sounding similar to Saints's classic "Never Ever" but with the other three's harmonies being replaced by a gospel choir. The second Shaz track "Dreams" is an Orbit style pop-trip composition that strangely (or perhaps predictably) echoes "Pure Shores". The group may have split but their sound lives on-in more ways than one. [+]

Michael Jackson's Thriller is the bestselling album of all time, with 45 million worldwide sales powered by eight Grammy Awards. The 1982 album was also a success from which the pop superstar never really recovered-subsequent albums seemed to have no other goal than to beat the records set by Thriller. The highly- polished sound of Quincy Jones's production sounds almost organic compared to Jackson's more recent work, and in the same regard, Thriller was significantly slicker than its predecessor, Off the Wall. Both albums established a Jackson style that aimed for the dance floor with songs built on a state-of-the-art bed of percussion and keyboards. Elements of milestone Thriller tracks like "Billie Jean" (arguably Jackson's best-ever performance) and "Beat It" (with its hard- rock solo by guitarist Eddie Van Halen) influenced not just Jackson's records, but those of the entire dance-pop world. On the song "Thriller", Jackson indulged his taste for the juvenile and invited Vincent Price to rap in a really scary voice. With Thriller the album, Jackson created a different kind of monster-a hit album of such magnitude that it would have an irrevocable impact not just on the singer's art, but on his altogether kooky life. -John Milward.

Stevie Wonder grew up fast, as Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 makes plain. Collecting both Motown assembly-line gems ("My Cherie Amour") and the first flashes of his self-contained '70s funk-rock style ("Signed Sealed Delivered I'm Yours", a terrific cover of the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out"), this 20-bit re-master disc is a must-own, particularly for Original Musiquarium fans looking for insight into Wonder's artistic growth. It's far from mere research material, though; the cream of this genius's early work is some of Motown's best. -Rickey Wright.

Alexander O'Neal, along with Luther Vandross, was the public face of male soul in the 1980s. This Greatest Hits compilation, produced mainly by longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis charts the hits predominantly from his first two albums and a handful of songs from subsequent releases. The intro song, "Never Knew Love like This", with label mate Cherrelle epitomises his mid-tempo style, awash with overly slick MIDI instruments and catchy choruses. The big songs here are undoubtedly "Fake" and "Criticise" from the acclaimed second album Hearsay, slightly rougher and more macho than say, "The Lovers" but just as crammed with heartfelt sentiment and soulful tales of love. A welcome inclusion is the duet from Cherrelle's High Priority album, "Saturday Love", a classic of the "Minneapolis sound" that sits more than comfortably with O'Neal's own work. Greatest Hits may seem heavily packed with older material but it was these songs on the Tabu label that made him a latter day soul legend and with the all new remastering, this collection is just as valid now as it was almost twenty years ago. -Georgina Collins.

Queen Of The Coffee Table, Gabrielle's career is demonstrating a remarkable longevity, considering that since the all-conquering "Dreams", she's seemed to cater for the few but the fickle city bohemians that have just discovered Massive Attack as "the next happening thing". It's not hard to see why, though, because Rise is ultra-slick, impeccably-produced soul-lite. What might come as a surprise is that in its own way, it's actually very good. A largely weepy album, much of Rise deals with the emotional fall-out of a failed love-affair, but through its tears, songs like "Over You" and "When A Woman" offers a girls-against-the-world solace. But as a warm undercurrent, there's a parent-friendly theme to "Sunshine", dedicated to Gabrielle's new-born son, that should see Rise lovingly working its way into a vast number of record collections. -Louis Pattison.

Unlike those of the other members of her family, Janet Jackson's albums are still worth waiting for. The best parts of All for You, her first disc since 1997's The Velvet Rope, continue to display the first-class pop-R&B talent who broke through decisively in the mid-80s with "What Have You Done for Me Lately" and "Nasty". Jackson's longtime cohorts Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are on board, and the production-writing trio demonstrates its mastery of everything from dirty funk ("You Ain't Right") to peppy, radio-perfect ("Come on Get Up" and 2000's No. 1 "Doesn't Really Matter") and hypnotically undulating sounds ("When We Oooo"). While much of All for You is irresistible, its handful of failures are poorly conceived and executed. Most glaring among these is "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)", an unlistenable sequel to Rope's "Got til It's Gone" which substitutes one self-regarding singer-songwriter diva (Carly Simon) for another (Joni Mitchell), thereby wrecking Simon's one golden moment, "You're So Vain". "Son of a Gun" and "Truth" apparently target estranged husband Rene Elizondo, but Jackson is hardly as convincing a revenge artist as she is a sex kitten. In fact, the likes of "Love Scene (Ooh Baby)" and "Would You Mind" out-spice even the carnally obsessed Velvet Rope and Janet Janet. -Rickey Wright.

I'd never want to visit Destiny's Child's homes for the holidays, if their nonsensically named holiday album 8 Days of Christmas is any indication of what they've got under the tree. Chilly, forced and overdone, this mixed bag of modern classics, tarted-up traditional carols and a trio of tunes penned by Beyoncé Knowles doesn't conjure up a single warm-and-fuzzy image of chestnuts roasting on an open fire or Jack Frost nipping at your nose. Rather, it's just another forum to showcase the band's Gucci bag of vocal gymnastics and crass materialism. The Texas trio takes seasonal classics such as Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", "Silent Night" and "Little Drummer Boy" and embellishes them with its own trills and off-kilter harmonies, overwhelming the songs so that their simple beauty is totally obscured. "On the eighth day of Christmas, my baby gave to me, a pair of Chloe shades and a diamond belly ring," brags Knowles in the title song-which is a take-off on the "12 Days of Christmas"-without ever explaining why they loped off four days. In addition, the band are shamelessly self-indulgent throughout the dozen songs found here, taking untold liberties, such as renaming the "Carol of the Bells", "Opera Bells" and recasting "Silver Bells" into "Platinum Bells", to reflect their multi-platinum status. But the low point of the record is when Destiny's Child hawk their own Hasbro Toy manufactured dolls in the intro of "Platinum Bells": "Ladies remember long ago we asked Santa to give us Christmas Dolls? But this year the dolls are you and me under the tree". Humbug. -Jaan Uhelszki.

The jumpy, Timbaland-esque beats that kickstart the title track of Fanmail, TLC's long-awaited follow-up to 1994's zillion-selling CrazySexyCool, are a lot more impressively modern than the "computerised" voices that introduce several cuts. Most of the album's production is similarly up to date, displaying the trio's smouldering style to good effect. A few of these songs ("Silly Ho," "No Scrubs," "Unpretty") verge on the anthemic, while Babyface-helmed ballads such as "I Miss You So Much" and "Dear Lie" feel like they're running on automatic pilot. For the most part, though, Fanmail earns its status as a multi-platinum sure thing. -Rickey Wright.

This silky-voiced Texan foursome combine hints of the slow, laconic sweetness of R&B mistress Erykah Badu with the tough, edgy pop of TLC. Like other US R&B girl groups, their follow-up to 1998's self-titled debut comes with the suitable glossy sheen and hot, late 90s producer-in this case She'kspere, the dude behind TLC's summer of 99 hit "No Scrubs". His magical, minimalist touch makes tracks like "Bills Bills Bills" and "Bug A Boo" memorable for their insouciance, and deft, hardcore harmonies. Writer/producer Missy Elliot also puts in her several thousand dollars-worth on "Confessing", a low-key love groove. Though teenagers when they recorded this album, Destiny's Child sing convincingly of faithless lovers, e-mail stalkers, and extra-marital temptation, complete with cod-Shakespearean quotes. They also do a gospel version of "Amazing Grace", letting their voices buck and weave a cappella. Apart from a few less than enthralling ballads, it¹s an engaging, sassy mix. -Lucy O'Brien.