The Princes Of Swingin' Soul (Sons Of Soul - Tony! Toni! Tone!)

Member Name: XICripZ

Product:	Sons Of Soul - Tony! Toni! Tone!
Date:	12/05/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Bangers throughout

Disadvantages: Nothing specific

"Sons of Soul" was the third album from the R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!., it came out in 1993, in the latter days of the R&B/Hip Hop hybrid that was New Jack Swing and so you can hear that it is being watered-down fairly significantly by this point. Amongst the Oakland group you have Raphael Saadiq in lead vocals, Timothy Christian Riley and D'Wayne Wiggins. Aside from these you have other people who go on to make up the band who compose the music, as well as a personal production group.

1. "If I Had No Loot"

This one opens up the album and has them go straight tin with some freaky New Jack Swing to liven it all up. It is a killer song on the thing, and ironically it samples a rap from Ice Cube which ridiculed the whole New Jack swing movement, but it seems to have been used effectively in this case on the energetic production.

**Five Stars**

2. "What Goes Around Comes Around"

The beats in this one have them get right into the groove of things as their band seem to be used a lot more than in other areas as it begins with live percussion before they opt for the more popular Electronic stuff, and I felt as though the short opening with this more real sounds give it a little boost before they get into the sound and open up themes for it in which they make people take notice of their actions before getting down to them.

**Five Stars**

3. "My Ex-Girlfriend"

Based on the lyrics of this song, you wouldn't expect the beats to be as big as this is as you have them on some "More Bounce To the Ounce", which was a key part of Gangsta Rap at the time, and they base this production around the New Jack Swing song which has them sing about the discovery of their ex-girlfriend being a person known to have slept around lot. It is a killer jam on the thing, and sticks out for the bluntness of the wording.

**Five Stars**

4. "Tell Me Mama"

This one seems to go on a very different subject to other songs that you get on here, and you would expect it to be a later tune on the thing as you find that they do a song where the topic of it is just apologizing to their mother for being so naive whilst growing up , and not really acknowledging all that they have done for them as they grew up. It is a nice one, and offers something alternative from them.

**Four Stars**

5. "Leavin'"

I was really into this one from them as it is such an engaging and exciting one as you find Saadiq in an ambitious mood as he performers a song which has him act spontaneously and speak on how he wishes for himself and his girl to just move away from heir current settings, and just make a new life out of what they currently have. It just makes you want to get into the mood to do so too.

**Four Stars**

6. "Slow Wine"

This one dropped as a single, and has them do exactly as what is expected from them as they do a slow jam, which has them get sensual, but don't even mention anything sexual, as they wish to go a state which is hinting on this, without actually engaging in it. For this reason it is original, and it shows that they are very different to other R&B acts out there.

**Four Stars**

7. "Pillow"

This one came out as one of the singles to the album, and this was to boost the softer side of the material with other gentle singles coming off it, and I felt that it allowed them to come across as very believable when they choose to do other songs similar to this. It is a soft one, and requires a couple more listens than others, due to its soft sounds and low tempo, but you could find it to be a big one following this.

**Four stars**

8. "I Couldn't Keep it To Myself"

This is a nice song, and the light mood of it lifts you in he way that the earlier song "Leavin'" did as this one has Saadiq just let go of all his past thoughts, and just speak his mind on exactly how much in love he has found himself, and how he just has to let everyone know now. It is a killer, and the way it brings you in contributes to this.

**Four Stars**

9. "Gangstas Groove"

On this one you have them take in right back to the seventies with a track which comes directly out of the Blaxploitation era, and everything associated with this as you hear that they do a song which takes influence from the production of Dr. Dre, and how he took on the classic grooves of the past to make Gangsta era which they lived in.

**Five Stars**

10. "Tonyies! In The Wrong Key"

This is a hot jam from them, and it seems to have them on beats which take them the furthest they have been into the Hip Hop way of things as they do things on top of P-Funk grooves which were popular around this time. They use this one as a chance to track their progression since their debut in 1988, and the opportunities available to them from here.

**Five Stars**

11. "Dancehall"

This is the second time on the album where they visit Reggae Dancehall, and on this case they make it the main focus of the song, and I felt that it was a good thing to do as this time they squeeze all they can out of it. At first it is annoying as it is as if their aren't even attempting to do a thing like the style which is prominent in the Caribbean until you get some toasting which reflects the influx of acts such as Shaggy, Shabba Ranks and Aswad all in this year.

**Four Stars**

12. "Times Square 2:30" (Lude)

13. "Fun"

The pace in this one is high, and it seems to give a final boost to the thing as they get towards the end of the thing. The use of samples in this one seems quite strange in the fact that you hear the engaged phone sound as part of this, and it really fits in with it all Saadiq leads with his high-pitched vocals to speak about everyone just wants to have fun in their life.

**Four Stars**

14. "Anniversary"

To end the album you have one of their best songs from them album as they do a slow, and drawn-out song which has them sing about how they are celebrating their anniversary with their girl. It is a nice song, and it seems to contrast greatly from the type of music which was a round at the time, as they come directly off the Gangsta Rap rising in the late eighties and early nineties, and it seems as though they have nailed it in every single way.

**Five Stars**

15. "Castleers" (Outro)

I would have to say that as this is such a consistent album from them, I have to recommend it, and there really isn't anything I cold specify to hold the thing back as they seem to show great variation in this album with some lively New Jack Swing getting it off to a exciting start before slowing it down with more personal slow jams later.

Summary: Tony! Toni! Toné!'s third album