Whether it was caused by
Dawn Robinson
's absence or the questionable manipulations of their production team,
En Vogue
's first release as a trio,
EV3
, was a disappointment.
Masterpiece Theatre
, their second album since
Robinson
's departure, shows the group in much finer form. The silky-smooth harmonies are still there, combined with forceful solos and sassy and intelligent lyrics.
"Love U Crazay"
and
"Those Dogs"
both explore the liabilities of love in an aggressively funny way, set to famous classical music melodies, while still keeping funky R&B flavors. More traditional love songs pepper the rest of the album, but throughout,
manages to accomplish what few albums do -- being clever and classy at the same time. ~ Stacia Proefrock