L.I.F.E.S.T.Y.L.E. - Jody Watley s 2nd release is in my oppinion, her most powerful and consistant albums, solidifiying her as the grand diva extrodinaire. Larger than Life has Jody in true form, singin about the things we all dream of, Love, Money and Hapiness. Things we are not gonna give up for any man tryin to play us. This cd is perfect for strong black females and gay men if that makes any sense. You can play the cd from start to finish and relate to every song in some way. The production value is suberb, it s recorded loud so you can blast out every emotion as you drive along the coast while the sun is setting, hopefully getting ready for a romantic interlude with a hot man. My fave tracks are Real Luv, Friendz, Everything, What u Gonna Do 4 Me, Come N2 My World, Something New, hey practically the whole cd! Just like Jody says, gotta have the real thing and Larger Than Life is it.
Not as big as her self-titled debut, but arguably as good - After a huge blitz of success with her self-titled 1987 debut album, Jody Watley had much to live up to with her next album. This one is arguably just as good, spawning huge hits with Real Love, Friends, and Everything. The latter is a beautiful, slightly uptempo ballad and the other two are two of the most bouncy, perky examples of dance pop in the 80s. Friends also contains one of the best instances ever of the often-risky practice of collaborating vocally with rappers, featuring a brilliant solo by legendary MC Rakim (of Eric B & Rakim fame).
Ahead of her time! - Jody has sustained an impressive career and this CD in some ways solidified her reputation as a solo artist. From soul train, Shalamar, Solo Artist to underground club & drum and bass. She is the epitome of a pop/soul star without the overexposure. She is and always will be one of my favorite dance artist. She & Shalamar ROCKED THE EIGHTIES! Glad to know she is still making hits: last August 2008 MAKEOVER.
TYPICAL 90 S BEAT - I LIKED THE CD. I PREFERRABLY LIKED THE TRACK EVERYTHING, SEEMED LIKE IT WAS BEFORE IT S TIME. OVERALL THE CD WAS OK. I DIDN T PAY MUCH FOR IT.SO I THINK I GOT MY MONEY WORTH....ENJOY
Jody steps up her game - Jody Watley entered the music scene as a solo act in 1987, making her debut one of the most recognized & loved for it s time. Her combination of high fashion, cool vocals, & funky pop tunes made her quite the sensation.She continued in 1989 with her followup LP Larger Than Life. Here, there is a bit more emphasis on the new jack sound in which popular R&B was currently residing. Jody manages to infuse it her typical high fashion style, delivering odes to independence, real love (no pun intended), & just being who you are.Musically, again helmed by Andre Cymone, the new jack sound as stated permeates the record. So along with the more dance oriented cuts (i.e.-Come Into My Life), cuts such as L.O.V.E.R. & Friends exude a hip hop attitude. Bouncy beats & some skittering synths, & uses of some interesting sampling all work quite well together. The latter song, which features guest raps by Eric B. & Rakim, was the first of it s kind. Why some tried to credit Mariah Carey with this, Jody was the first mainstream R&B female artist to feature a hip hop act on a cut.Vocally, Jody s smoky & enthralling voice continues to get better. She manages to steer ballads such as the cool Everything. Alternating between sassy spoken word & soulful phrasing, as on the lead single Real Love Jody sounds very fresh & enthused.Once again, the look of the record was VERY ahead of it s time. You can see where Jody Watley s high fashion execution in her music & look would be felt & used by acts such as En Vogue, Destiny s Child, Amerie, Brandy, Aaliyah, the list goes on. I really saw the inspiration in Amerie s 1 Thing video, which to me recalled elements of the Real Love video.I highly recommend the Larger Than Life. It is definitely more than just a nostalgia piece. For those who can appreciate older musical textures, this record has held up well. Only maybe a small percentage of the tracks really don t go anywhere, but work within the context of the record well. This is one of my favorite Jody Watley albums & hopefully it ll become yours as well.