More soul from Lutricia Moneal

There was certainly no reason not to classify the music of Lutricia McNeal as dance after the release of her scintillating My Kind of Town album. The initial single release, Ain't That Just That Way, which incidentally was first recorded by Playboy playmate or was she Hugh Hefner's girlfriend, Barbie Benton, had great grooves for the dance floor. So did follow-ups My Side of Town, Washington and Stranded. All in all it was a well-produced debut with catchy tunes, a great beat and Lutricia's sparkling soul vocals.

Given that I expected something similar when I got hold of Lutricia's second album Watcha Been Doing. Very few artists are wont to make changes in style in the crucial second album lest they incur the sophomore jinx. But while her exciting vocals are still there, the dance moves have been toned down. What she offers instead is a collection of soulful tunes that are sweet, sexy and at times, unquestionably serious.

Why, the change? Well, perhaps like Jim Carrey and other popular stars, Lutricia wants to be taken seriously as an artist. Although she may not yet be as famous as Jim or that other Carey, Mariah, she does have her share of hits and followers in many parts of the world. Probably she now wants to show off her pipes, which she can do with dance music but which she can really showcase with a variety of R&B ballads.

Besides, it is also an opportunity for Lutricia to be truly American in her music. Take note that although born in Oklahoma and started out singing in the gospel choir, she got her break as a recording artist in Sweden, land of ABBA and the dance hits of Ace of Base. She was on a holiday in Europe when she met some Swedish producers. So My Kind of Town had this jaunty Scandinavian feel that made it very commercial.

With record sales now in the millions from Scandinavia to the UK to Japan, New Zealand and many other countries, Lutricia definitely had the clout to call the shots in her second release. So she looked the sophomore bogey in the eye and plunged into uncharted waters. In this case, it meant writing some of her songs, working with different producers and recording in Stockholm, Dallas, Texas and Los Angeles.

What emerged is still upbeat but a far cry from My Side of Town. But there is no question that it shows what great sounds Lutricia is capable of. 365 Days is the first single and it has the makings of a radio favorite. My bet though for what will make Whatcha Been Doing a hit is the second cut Fly Away which Lutricia composed with D. Papalexis.

The other cuts are When the Morning Comes, Butterflies, I Never Said I Loved You, Everything, Kissing You Goodbye, Being with You, Always on My Mind, Crazy Love and Whatcha Been Doing. You can still bounce around the dance floor to the rhythm but Lutricia McNeal is already looking at other things in her future.

Speaking of dance tunes, of which there is a great need of these days what with proms and graduation balls and all the merrymaking that happens before school closes for the summer, the album of the moment is certainly Dance Dance Revolution 2000. This one has cuts for nearly all of the hottest dance trends, Latin to trance, that you may have seen performed in the contest in the TV show Eat Bulaga and at 20 selections in one album is certainly a bargain.

Included are This is How We Do It by Solid Base; 2 Times by Ann Lee; Kiss When the Sun Don't Shine by the Vengaboys; Better Off Alone by DJ Jurgen; Hero by Papaya; Butterfly by Koyoh; Get Get Down by Paul Johnson; Blue (Da Da Dee) by Eiffel 65; Abracadabra by Tiggy; Crazy for You by Martina; Back in My Life by Alice Deejay; Gimme Gotta Gimme by Rikke; King of My Castle by the Wamdue Project; Sweet Amnesty by M.G.; Bam Bam Bam by Bambee; La Banana by Candela Pura; Steps Two Three Four by Strict Instructor; That's the Way I Like It by Clock; Sexual by Amber; and I Say I Do by Soda.