Natalie Cole is a gifted stylist who has yet to evolve her own approach. This time around, while traces of Chaka Khan and Aretha Franklin remain, she seems more in tune with Diana Ross's efforts; as a followup to the well-crafted Inseparable, this album is exactly the glossy pop package producers Marvin Yancy and Chuck Jackson intended.

Natalie evidences the same concern for restraint and conciseness that made Cole's debut disc so appealing. The producers have fashioned a string of sub-four-minute songs with smart hooks and ear-grabbing melodies, but unfortunately they have also narrowed the range of approach considerably. Nothing on Natalie approaches the freshness and exuberance of "This Will Be," although "Can We Get Together Soon" is a thinly veiled soundalike, reminiscent of Motown's old attempts to milk several songs from one hit.

Most of Natalie consists of breathy midtempo love songs. The exceptions are "Sophisticated Lady (She's a Different Lady)," which is mild bar-band funk straight from the pages of Essence magazine ("She is hip to politics/But loves her jazz/She's got lots of rhythm/And lots of class"), and "Mr. Melody," a catchy song from the show-biz tradition, complete with ersatz shoobie-doobie-dee scat singing. (RS 217)

JOE MCEWEN