Fire

Inner City escaped the dreaded sophomore curse with its consistently enriching second album, Fire, which provides such inspired, gospel-influenced house music treasures as "My Heart's Not Here With You," "Lovelight," "What Does It Take," and "That Man (He's All Mine)." Like its predecessor, Big Fun, Fire shows Paris Gray to be a singer of depth and substance and Kevin Saunderson to be an inventive, distinctive producer. Inner City's vision remained positive, and "Hallelujah" and "Unity" are fine examples of the uplifting "love/peace/togetherness" theme that's common in house music. Though Saunderson liked to call Inner City's music "techno-house," both Big Fun and Fire are very melodic and accessible albums lacking the type of abrasiveness associated with techno. Once again, Inner City fared well in club and dance-music circles, but unfortunately, enjoyed little exposure in the R&B and pop markets.