AllMusic

N Phase

N Phase

1994

Urban

Neo-soul was a shrewd marketing term, but it did a disservice to dozens of '90s acts that maintained deep connections to classic R&B.; This South Carolina group is one example, whose lone album is highlighted by the R. Kelly-produced Top 25 R&B; ballad "Spend the Night," as well as Manhattans and Commodores covers.

- Andy Kellman

Takako Minekawa

Fun 9

July 6, 1999

Alternative Pop/Rock

With the release of Toropical Circle, Takako Minekawa's first album in over a decade, the time seems right to revisit her last set of songs before going on hiatus. Fun9 is as delightful as ever, serving as both a time capsule of Shibuya-kei's whimsical late-'90s heights and as an indicator of the more experimental path she took in the 2010s.

- Heather Phares

The Winkies

The Winkies

1975

Pub Rock

Caught between the shifting tides of mid-'70s rock & roll, the Winkies were a pub rock band who backed Brian Eno and was produced Guy Stevens on their 1975 debut and, to confuse matters more, their homoerotic artwork was designed by Hipgnosis, the design firm behind Pink Floyd's iconic images. All this is a roundabout way to say The Winkies really didn't fit into any category: they were too arty for pub rock, too down and dirty for art-rock, they covered Bob Seger, Bob Dylan and Johnny Horton, then wrote originals that either hit hard or floated away. These idiosyncrasies doomed the band commercially in '76 but, years later, the album sounds like a quirky little classic awaiting a cult of its own.

- Stephen Thomas Erlewine