Word: soft
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...This is an interesting proposition, but one which, unfortunately, requires more talent to be implemented successfully than the singer/writer is able to demonstrate. His new CD, Tear It Up: The Ska Album, consists of a collection of tunes that, for the most part, try to be to ska what soft rock is to rock and roll. But while the album offers a few songs with fair instrumentals, the CD does not succeed, lapsing into tedious and uninteresting music backing repetitive and superficial lyrics...
...best example of what seems to be the goal of the majority of the songs on Tear it Up is "Sweet Lady." This song succeeds in providing a pleasant "soft" ska feel. The ska rhythms are present but the song is very reminiscent of soft rock. In addition, the song features a pretty saxophone solo, making "Sweet Lady" the most promising of the songs on the album...
...remainder of the songs on the album, however, are unmemorable attempts to use this soft style of ska. Featuring tedious and uninteresting music as well as unexciting lyrics, the songs are all boring enough to be difficult to listen...
...music without compensating for that lack of energy with interesting instrumental themes. And none of the songs are redeemed by meaningful lyrics. Most simply make one statement and then repeat it, and those that elaborate do so in a superficial manner. Floyd Lloyd succeeds in offering a vision of soft ska, but he does not succeed in actualizing that vision. What is left is a CD that is mediocre at best--sapping the music of its energy and leaving nothing substantial in its place...
...separation between his bluesy score and his direction. Like the best of jazz, Figgis articulates as much passion in the silences (scenes punctuated by lulls and darkness) as in the straightforward action. A party scene late in the film, with the camera roaming through a drunk crowd under soft amber light, and an earlier incident in which Snipes wanders through a wild Manhattan parade, take on the rhythm and expressionistic flair that made Vegas so good. Too bad One Night Stand didn't get more in the way of inspiration from the previous film...