Since Michael Bivins was a part of New Edition, he knew a thing or two about being a member of a young R&B group. Biv’s initial success came with Another Bad Creation, but that group did not last too long for whatever reason. With the help of the group Subway, Bivins attempted to take on the teen market again in the spring of 1995. We all remember “Fire” and how big that song was in our middle school days. However, Subway delivered a quality debut throughout with nine tracks exploring the fusion of soul, rap, and reggae that defines the Chicago scene in 1995. Subway aimed to take their listeners on a journey through the growing Chicago scene back then.
The nineties are largely remembered as a time when vocal groups with dazzling leads and smooth harmony dominated R&B music. However, Eric, Trerail, Roy, and Keith the members of Subway were able to prove that the strength of their music lies in the alliance of four members. Their debut album opens with “Chi-Town Ride,” which features guest vocalists Easy and Tung Twista. It is a nice start before we get three slow jams back to back.
The group’s album features production by Chad “Dr. Ceuss” Elliot and Herb Middleton, who has contributed the tracks (“The Better The Love” and “This Is Not A Goodbye”) that both avoids the characteristic of the R. Kelly-influenced, bump-n-grind new wave of R&B that was sweeping the nation as the time.
There’s no doubt that Subway’s swinging “Get Da Money” is a link to the West Coast scene on the album, and Phat Pocket’s Remix of that song wins the prize as the album’s standout track. We must also mention the tracks produced by late soul legend Gerald Levert (“This Lil’ Game We Play” and “Goodtimes”) that bring about a change of pace, emphasizing Subway’s raw vocal abilities and smooth style in an intriguing way.
Good Times provides a continuous musical flow through the combination of production expertise and raw talent.
Final Grade: B
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.
One wonderful aspect of supporting physical media is that I never run short of albums to choose from when deciding what to cover for Second Listen Sunday. Often, I’ll head to the man cave, browse through my CD collection, and an album will pop out at me. This week’s pick is T-Pain’s fourth album, “Revolver.”
One of my favorite singers, Mr. Eric Roberson, is performing this weekend at America’s legendary music venue, The Birchmere. To show Eric some love, I want to highlight something longtime R&B fans have always known: he’s had remarkable songwriting talent.