Afrodisiac

Mellow and marvelous best describes this collection. Song for song, this is the most soothing album ever recorded by the Main Ingredient, but it went virtually unnoticed because it lacked a big hit. Cuba Gooding never sounded as smooth; he reminds you of original lead singer Don McPherson on some cuts. Stevie Wonder songs and productions dominate the set. Cuba Gooding, Tony Silvester, and Luther Simmons' renditions of "Superwoman" and "Where Were You When I Needed You" are masterfully executed, and the productions are A-1. "Girl Blue" is a probing, harmonious, understated ballad that could work as a poem. They do justice to the Isley Brothers' "Work to Do," the only mover. These songs speak of mature love situations and not the unrequited adolescent predicaments that monopolized early-'70s R&B.