Search - Christopher Williams, Guy :: New Jack City: Music From The Motion Picture

Amy T. (simplyamy) from DAKOTA DUNES, SD
Reviewed on 8/16/2007...

Guilty pleasure! Loved Iced-T!

Another one of those "ya had to have been there" albums!

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 07/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Though the movie from whence comes the music on the album is a classic in its own right, the soundtrack is more a time capsule of what we listened to and danced to in 1991. Most of the artists/groups found on the release have either moved on to bigger and better things (Ice-T, Gerald Levert, and multi-talented Queen Latifah), are still recording with lesser success (Johnny Gill with "New Edition" and Keith Sweat), or have faded into relative obscurity (Color Me Badd, Troop, Guy, and 2 Live Crew).



But, in their day, they ruled the airwaves.



Ironically, the song that is the most dated is the sole remake: "For the Love of Money/Living For the City (Medley)". While the two in their respective original forms are just as thrilling today as they were three decades ago, the "new jack swing" version found on the soundtrack pales in comparison, which bears evidence to the fact that some songs cannot be remade.



But, honestly, the album is a good companion to a great film and that's all that can be asked of it."

Ages well

D. A Wu | Chicago, IL United States | 06/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I recently saw New Jack City (the movie) a second time and tried to listen for the tunes on this soundtrack, but found a number of them were missing. The movie seems a little dated only 9 years later, but many of the tunes on this soundtrack collection continue to refresh with each successive listen. I especially like the slow songs: "There You Go," "I'm Dreaming" and "I'm Still Waiting" are well-balanced performances purveying lush R&B songwriting and balladry without resort to the overproduction and performer excesses that infected so much of the mid- to late-'90s R&B. Like always, the beef is in the songs. You can tell that the songs are strong because the sweaty, extemely powerful performances by Johnny Gill & company still do not overwhelm the songs themselves. The more upbeat songs also hold up well. If you are over 25 at the time of this writing, "I Wanna Sex You Up" is probably ingrained in your head, like it or not. Though the "New Jack Swing" revolution never really took hold, get this CD because it competently captures a pleasant snippet on the musical timeline. It's certainly worth the cheap price Amazon is charging."