Keep On Movin' : Soul II Soul : Review : Rolling Stone

"The future of Soul II Soul: A happy face, a thumping bass, for a loving race," proclaimed Jazzie B on "Jazzie's Groove." Who would have predicted that recipe would prove to be the future for a generation of boho-soul musicians? When it first appeared in 1989, Soul II Soul's Keep On Movin' seemed less of an instant classic than a hip tour of the black music diaspora. Soul II Soul's vital sound danced between styles, often in the same song, with self-conscious purpose: The booming bottom end of reggae sound systems (which is what the group began as) melded with Sade's Nigeria-via-London smoky lounge vibe; Motown-worthy lush orchestration and diva vocals from Caron Wheeler percolated next to hip-hop rhythms on songs such as the title track's effortlessly funky groove (lifted from Eric B. and Rakim). "Feeling Free" featured doo-wop harmonies, while the piano-driven house beats of "Happiness" oozed London club culture.

Jazzie B served as the master of ceremonies of this mix, dropping inspirational aphorisms in a casual spoken-word style. The music was the truly inspiring part, though, as the next decade would prove. The scatty, organic vocals in "Fairplay" and the Zulu chanting in "Holdin' On" still echo in neo-soul singers like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. Trip-hop avatars Massive Attack even made their first recorded appearance on "Feeling Free"; the album's unabashedly multicultural approach also opened the charts to similarly inclined artists who followed, from the Fugees to Shaggy. Keep On Movin's biggest single, "Back to Life" - with its indelible "however do you want me, however do you need me" hook - has become a soul standard of sorts (most recently, Mary J. Blige had an R&B hit with her soaring interpretation, and a two-step version of the song is a U.K. club smash). Nellee Hooper would leave the group in 1992 to produce hits for Bjork and Madonna, and Soul II Soul would never reach these highs again. But the prescient group's first album sounds as fresh today as it did in 1989, and their legacy just keeps on moving.

MATT DIEHL
(RS 873 - July 19, 2001)