Lucy Pearl

1	Lucy Pearl's Ways 2:52
2	Trippin' 3:04
3	Dance Tonight 3:41
4	La [Untitled Track] 3:30
5	Everyday 4:00
6	Can't Stand Your Mother 3:43
7	Good Love 4:10
8	Without You 3:57
9	Don't Mess With My Man 3:37
10	Hollywood 3:51
11	Remember the Times 3:06
12	They Can't 3:09
13	Do It for the People 2:32
14	You 4:26
15	Lucy Pearl Tells 5:24

Barnes & Noble

Lucy Pearl has made one of the best records of the year. Haven't heard of her? That's because "she" is actually a supergroup combining the talents of singer-songwriter Raphael Saadiq of Tony! Toni! Toné!, former En Vogue vocalist Dawn Robinson, and one-time A Tribe Called Quest beatmaker Ali Shaheed Muhammad. With Saadiq's clever, slice-of-life songwriting and a sound that fuses hip-hop, soul, funk, and rock, LUCY PEARL raises the bar for modern soul music. Saadiq and Robinson's sweet, soulful voices and their boy/girl vocal exchanges support the entire album. On "Dance Tonight," they take turns celebrating an evening on the town, while "Can't Stand Your Mother" turns a classic complaint between lovers into a competitive duet. Most of the beats are funky enough to pack a hip-hop club's dance-floor, but Muhammad skillfully flips genres with the rock-tinged "Hollywood" and the contemplative, bluesy "Remember the Time." In a conformist, urban music climate when most hip-hop and R&B albums are filled with lengthy interludes, boastful rapping, and way too many songs, Lucy Pearl has assembled an ecclectic package of feel-good music that will stand the test of time. Ryan Crosby

All Music Guide

For many years, there has been a glut of slick, soulless R&B and hip-hop where talent is obscured by the canned packaging. Members of three bands who broke from that stale scene -- En Vogue, Tony! Toni! Tone!, and A Tribe Called Quest -- have formed the alter ego Lucy Pearl. With rock star makeovers gracing the cover and good press, you'd expect some crossbred, innovative results. But the new hip-hop, soul, rock, and R&B adventures are buried in the last third of the album. Until then, Dawn Robinson's rock hard vocals, Raphael Saadiq's melodic and guitar talents, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad's knack for intricate beats seem lost in a gloss of overproduction, forgettable lyrics, and cookie-cutter melodies, despite some trippy jazz beats and the witty "I Can't Stand Your Mother." The groove finally gets hot with the Chic-inspired "Don't Mess With My Man" and blasts into the scathing music biz attack "Hollywood" -- is this the real Lucy Pearl? Drawing samples from Albert Collins and Notorious B.I.G., the trio mixes up a super-loose feel, acoustic guitars, old-school machine beats, and guest raps from Snoop Dogg and Q-Tip. The inventive, witty "Lucy Pearl Tells" looks back on college and growing up in the '80s, even calling up the Alabama A&M Marching Band covering the first Lucy Pearl single "Dance Tonight." Theresa E. LaVeck