When I first heard "I Want Her" from this 1987 recording, I dropped what I was doing and ran to a record store. The single is the prototype for what Teddy Riley, who did the drum and keyboard programming on the song, would call "New Jack Swing." It has hip-hop's rhythmic chatter and R&B's fierce uptempo drive. Although Riley contributes to most of the songs on this disc, Sweat has a different direction in mind. He aspires to be--and with future releases became--the king of the slow jam. His warm, deep tenor and his intelligently crafted songs set the standard for the pre-Maxwellian loverman. --Martin Johnson