Big Dog 92-7 Music Guide

Vol. V: Believe

RELEASE
August 11, 1995
LABEL
Virgin
GENRES
Rhythm & Blues, Soul, Dance-Pop, Club/Dance, House, Urban, Adult Contemporary R&B

Album Review

Six years after they revolutionized R&B and soul with their debut album, Keep on Movin', Soul II Soul returned with Vol. V: Believe. Since their debut, the soul collective had been struggling to regain their position as musical innovators; in the process, they turned out two confused albums that had their moments, but nothing quite as stirring as their initial singles, which were collected on the British-only Volume IV: The Classic Singles. Believe, their fourth album of original material, doesn't necessarily make a case for Soul II Soul as pioneers in the mid-'90s, but it does represent something of a comeback. Where their two previous albums were muddled affairs, Believe is clear and confident, filled with fully formed songs. It helps that Jazzie B, the leader of the group, has persuaded former members Caron Wheeler and Penny Ford to make appearances on the album, and has recruited some genuine new talent that helps spark him into recording his best music since the group's debut. Granted, it doesn't push down many boundaries, but Believe fits comfortably into the laid-back, jazz-saturated grooves of '90s R&B.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. Love Enuff
  2. Ride On
  3. How Long
  4. Feeling
  5. Universal Love
  6. Be a Man
  7. Zion
  8. Don't You Dream
  9. Game Dunn
  10. Sunday
  11. Pride
  12. I Care [Soul II Soul]
  13. B Groove
  14. Believe