PLEASURE AND PAIN
112
CD
Barcode: 0602498811474
£12.50
Delivered
Additional personnel: Jermaine Dupri, T.I., Three 6 Mafia.
Producers: Daron Jones; Darrell Allamby; Jermaine Dupri; The Trackboys; Mario Winans.
It's somewhat ironic that 112's first parental-advisory album sticker would come after leaving the umbrella of Bad Boy Entertainment. However, that's not to imply that 112 have altered or toughened their style in any manner. PLEASURE & PAIN, sharing its name with a track off the foursome's 1996 debut, contains more of the sensitive, impassioned, consummately clean-cut love songs that made the act famous. (The warning sticker actually stems from relatively polite guest raps from Three 6 Mafia, T.I., and Jermaine Dupri.)
For loyal fans of 112, PLEASURE & PAIN certainly won't disappoint, as the Atlanta quartet delivers more of their tender R&B/gospel love odes, with a couple of sufficiently danceable up-tempo numbers thrown in for good measure. The men of 112 relate tales of love in a mature, all-encompassing manner; few R&B groups would have the inner strength to express the phrases of self-doubt and reflection (What If) or wisdom (Let This Go) presented here. 112 can as effectively pull off the luxuriously funky U Already Know as they pledge eternal dedication on Nowhere. With PLEASURE & PAIN, 112 continues to exhibit a flair for heartfelt, impassioned, introspective songs of devotion.n
