Tracks such as “Never No More” and “I Care 4 U” (featuring Missy) are slinky, twisted ballads imbued with film-noir sultriness, as diva Aaliyah steps catlike away from the bubblegum R&B of her contemporaries. While Missy Elliott is cranking out jams for all her “club freaks,” Aaliyah is like a modern-day (if less vocally gifted) Minnie Riperton, exploring the pains of moving from child star to adult sex symbol.
Instead, this collection is an extraordinary romantic exposition of passion and pain. While lead track “We Need a Resolution” is as mainstream as it gets, there are fewer hits on this album than on previous efforts. At 22, when most artists would just be getting started, Aaliyah had already progressed from pop to street to an unconventional retro-modern, risk-taking version of R&B. Sadly, her death just a little over a month after its release stilled a promising voice in R&B. Seven years after her debut at just 15 years old, Aaliyah assembled a third studio album that was astonishingly mature.
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