What Happened To The Jodecial Hotline? (Late Night Special: Parental Advisory - Pretty Ricky)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Late Night Special: Parental Advisory - Pretty Ricky
Date:	14/07/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A strong mix of tunes

Disadvantages: A couple fo weaker tracks

In 2007 the Florida Pop Rap and R&B group Pretty Ricky dropped "Late Night Special", the quartet's second album, and final to feature member Pleasure P, who was to leave and pursue R&B as a soloist. Although not containing as many hits as what their debut produced, it still when down well with fans.

1. "Late Night Special"

To start this album off, you see that they are making significant changes this time around as they get straight right into the highly sexual work, and appear to have matured greatly from their debut by going directly into the slow ad seductive work which was popular in the mid nineties R&B work, but doing it all with raps instead.

**Four Stars**

2. "On The Hotline"

They make big changes to it all as after getting right down d dirty with it on the open, you have them relax it all and take a step back slightly by choosing to do a track which has them on top of some classic samples from the likes of Newcleus, The Isley Brothers, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, and even Rick James when adapting work from Salt-N-Pepa on what was the first single from the album.

**Four Stars**

3. "Love Like Honey"

With the pace of the music slowed right down again, you have a song which has them allow Pleasure P to show what he can do with his vocals, and it appears that he brings out the sensuality of the situation which we are put into this particular song as they get down to it again here. It has them show how effectively they can sing to this type of stuff and not lose the feelings of it all.

**Four Stars**

4. "Push It Baby"
They seem to take things in a different direction for this one, and it appears to lift things quite a bit as a result as you see that they do a light club song which has them doing something danceable to show that there's much more them than what we got form the first ones. It is a successful one, but with the same producers as with their debut, it doesn't seem to have really progressed all that much (with this song in particular).

**Four Stars**

5. "Leave It All Up To You"

Here you find that they go for a song which has them do a song where they just get into some good old Pop R&B, they attempt to keep things pretty clean (to a degree) on this one and go over past material as they sing a song which has them floating as they talk about the type of thing they like to get up to with their girl, and how they will allow them to decide what is good for them.

**Four Stars**

6. "Stay"

This is a song which has them taking over and doing for a song which clearly takes from earlier songs in terms of taking down the pace, but the direction is evidently twisted towards something a little different here as here they speak on the aspirations they have with their girls, and what they would eventually like things to result in. It is a nice little song, and is done well.

**Four Stars**

7. "So Confused"

The opening of this particular song indicated to me tha it wasn't going to be one which I would really feel, and this was affirmed when the beat dropped on it and it saw that they went for a song directed exclusively towards their female listeners as they do a song which has them collaborating with Butta Creamé and has them take on the type of form which the female Pop R&B singers of the early to mid nineties did. It lacks male appeal and seems to completely ignore this side of their music.

**Two Stars**

8. "Personal Trainer"

On this one you see that they take things back to the clubs as they do a hyped up tune which appears to play up to their situation and the place where they represent with a track based upon the Booty Bass period of Florida's Hip Hop scene, and blends this with their slower manner of performing. The song is performed as a Crunk track would be with lines repeated heavily, but it work well work what is done.

**Four Stars**

9. "Up & Down"

On this song you see that they return to the thing which you got in the earlier parts f the album as you have them doing more of the work which takes heavy influence from the likes of Dru Hill, Jodeci, and H-Town in terms of the way that they attempt to capture those classic slow jams of the nineties, but doing it with a modern twist with Snap aspects coming through to guide the production

**Four Stars**

10. "Peer Pressure"

Here they do a song which lightens the mood as they go for a gentle club tune designed to bring things up little again, but I felt that it was a little misplaced, and it didn't really fit the direction which they were going wit the album at this point and so it seemed to hold it back a little at this point in it.

**Two Stars**

11. "Make It Like It Was"

Ending this album, you have a song which has them take the album in the way which dominated the release as you have them doing it in a soft way. You see that they attempt to make the R&B side much more prominent, but it sees that the raps prevent it from fully manifesting itself and making it what you wish it to become.

**Three Stars**

Although towards the end of it, it seems to find them losing focus and getting into things which aren't really that appeal to the majority of listeners, the overall sound of this album is strong, and it makes for a strong album of its kind in 2007. Not many others nailed this mix of rap and R&B, and I felt that it showed just how well they can do it.

Summary: Pretty Ricky's secodn album