What made Soul II Soul's first album such a revelation was its sound, a sinuous, bass-driven groove that was unlike anything else in R&B at the time. In late 1988, when Keep On Movin' arrived from England, most American R&B seemed beholden to the preprogrammed precision of drum machines and sequencers; for that reason, there was something refreshingly human about the strings, vocals and percussion that fleshed out ear-catching singles like "Keep On Movin'" and "Back to Life."

Better still, though Soul II Soul was largely the work of its acknowledged mastermind, DJ and master mixer Jazzie B., the music was shaped by the tastes and abilities of an entire community, the singers and players that Jazzie B. had gathered around him. As a result, what we heard wasn't just a band but the sound of a scene. It made for one hell of a debut.

So what does Soul II Soul do for an encore? Refine the formula, of course – reiterate the good bits, polish up the lesser parts and toss in enough new ideas to make sure the band keeps on movin' regardless of how familiar it's all become. That is essentially what Jazzie B. and company have done for Vol. II – 1990 – A New Decade.

Just listen to how "Get a Life," the album's first single, borrows from Keep On Movin'. Not only does the loping bass line recall the cadence of "African Dance," but the burst of horns that crops up midsong is the same sample used in "Jazzie's Groove." In fact, the song structure itself seems largely based on "Feeling Free." As much as it echoes songs from the last album, however, "Get a Life" is no mere retread; it's a synthesis, like the Soul II Soul sound itself. Just as the rhythm bed marshals disparate elements – rumbling and reggaefied bass, percolating African percussion, prodding house-style piano – into an utterly singular groove, so too does the arrangement stir a wide range of sounds into a surprisingly cohesive blend. Yet what ultimately makes the song work isn't the way these pieces fit together but the way they set one another off, controlling the music's mood through contrasting styles and textures.

Jazzie couches the entire message of "Get a Life" in these terms. To convey a sense of naive questing, he gives us children singing, "What's the meaning of life?" while he relies on hip-hop scratching and hardcore beats to show us jaded adulthood. As for his contemplative, philosophical side, that gets covered by the cool commentary of an Afro-jazz flute obbligato. Put it all together, and you can almost hear Jazzie's mental processes at work.

That's quite an ambitious turn for a dance record, even one that aims as high as A New Decade obviously does. (In fact, it's such an impressive bit of work that I'm almost embarrassed to add that Jazzie's big message turns out to be nothing more original than that old saw: Life is what you make it.) Yet for all its big plans and good intentions, this new album still can't measure up to its predecessor.

Admittedly, a large part of that is simply a matter of perspective, since Soul II Soul will never sound as revolutionary or fresh as it did the first time we heard the band. After all, when a group invents a better mousetrap on its first album, who can be happy with merely getting a better-quality cheese on the second? Nor is that the only way in which A New Decade doesn't measure up. For one thing, it's doubtful that either "A Dreams a Dream" or the overlong "Time (Untitled)" would have been considered club classics even if they had appeared on the first album; the writing is just too uneven.

Moreover, the singing, though occasionally excellent – particularly the choral sections, like the African harmonies on "1990 – A New Decade" or the jazzy angularity of "Love Come Through" – doesn't sparkle as it did last time. Kym Mazelle, already something of a star on the deep-house scene, may add a Chaka Khan sizzle to the lovely "Missing You" and Marcia Lewis may shine in "People," but it's hard not to miss Caron Wheeler, who carried both "Keep On Movin'" and "Back to Life" on the last album.

Still, these are fairly minor gripes, particularly since Soul II Soul, regardless of its other faults, never neglects its groove. That's why it's telling that the track that comes closest to the all-out success of "Get a Life" is "Courtney Blows." Essentially just a bass line, a beat and a four-and-a-half-minute soprano-sax solo by Courtney Pine, it is structurally one of the simplest songs on the album – yet it speaks volumes. And if Soul II Soul can say that much with that little, there's considerable hope for this new decade. (RS 581)

J.D. CONSIDINE