Fanmail

Asian version featuring a bonus Video CD with 2 music videos: 'No Scrubs', & 'Unpretty', and samples of BMG's latest international artists.

Rumors of TLC's impending breakup were especially worrying in light of this excellent disc, which was even more consistent in its way than 1994's CrazySexyCool. Great singing and the usual huge hooks--not to mention the smarts of songs such as "Unpretty" and "I'm Good at Being Bad"--made Fanmail one of R&B's most striking releases of the year. --Rickey Wright

The jumpy, Timbaland-esque beats that kickstart the title track of Fanmail, TLC's long-awaited follow-up to 1994's zillion-selling CrazySexyCool, are a lot more impressively modern than the "computerized" voices that introduce several cuts. Most of the album's production is similarly up to date, displaying the trio's smoldering style to good effect. A few of these songs ("Silly Ho," "No Scrubs," "Unpretty") verge on the anthemic, while Babyface-helmed ballads such as "I Miss You So Much" and "Dear Lie" feel like they're running on automatic pilot. For the most part, though, Fanmail earns its status as a multiplatinum sure thing. --Rickey Wright