A friend of mine is from Brazil. She had never heard of al b sure and found my cd's. She played "in effect mode" and has been playing the cd ever since. It actually has made me re-appreciate the cd.He did have a unique sound.She is using the lyric sheet to help with her english pronunciations.Another cd she levitated to is my a cappella cd of jay-z's black album.Who'da' thunk that al b sure and jay z were so versatile.But,seriously,she really likes his version of "killing me softly".I dig it a little,too.

rockwilder said:

Al B had his moments. The man is living a pretty nice lifestyle right now so he did something right. His problem was he tried 2 sing LIVE. That was a mistake.

Graycap23 said:

I don't know that AL had his moments, but his debut did! That was one hot album! Still is!

VinnyM27 said:

hell's yeah! al b. was the man and that first cd was rockin! what is he up to these days? any one know? his version of killing me softly is better than lauren hill's in my opinion.

dancerella said:

Yes, his debut was hot, but there were some other great songs after it ("Missunderstanding" and "Right Now" for starters).

I also really like his version of "Killing Me Softly." Like him or not, he really took that song and made it sound like an Al B. Sure! song (a la the Isley Brothers).

Graycap23 said:

Absolutely right!I thought he would have a long career because of his studio work ethic.He had a nice production style and he knew how to layer his vocals.I still think he could have cool cd's .I break that "private times and the whole (" every now and again.He should be ,at least,producing.

Yeah actually it is a good listen.

private times is my fave disc.

i still gotta get sexy versus though.

rockwilder said:

Don't forget - his cousin, Kyle West, was a big part of that "Al B. Sure sound". "Kyle West - break it down!!!"

Do y'all remember when Al won the Sony Innovator's Award? He was pictured in an ad with Quincy Jones. It ran in Ebony and Jet magazines when I saw it, shortly before the release of In Effect Mode.

JesseDezz said:

i didn't know kyle west (break it down) was his cousin. does he still produce?

Funny, I recently heard You Can Call Me Crazy a song that I used to think Al B. sang until I discovered it was Guy but it still reminds me of Al.

Thats a fine brotha right there

I ACTUALLY like "Private Times And The Whole 9" a little bit better than "In Effect Mode"!!!!!

Trivia Time: How many of y'all ACTUALLY KNOW/KNEW that "Kyle West" is a pseudonym for.....JAAAAAM!!!!! OOOOH JAM!!!!! JAAAAAM!!!!! TEDDY JAM FOR ME!!!!!

Swear to God/Allah/Yahweh/Budda/Hare Krishna & anybody else, a couple of years ago in a Teddy Riley interview, he FESSED UP!!!!! TEDDY was/is KYLE WEST!!!!!

woogiebear said:

GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE, MAN!.ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

i learn something new every day.i can see it musically, now.
[Edited 10/27/06 11:59am]
[Edited 10/27/06 12:01pm]

JesseDezz said:

I thought Kyle West was fake.....

TheFemaleNumber6 said:

wow, if that's true it's crazy! why did he do that? that's a very prince thing to do. dontcha think?

dancerella said:

my sentiments exactly, Dancerella! as far as the private times album then teddy riley was the co-ghost writer for 7 of the tracks on there.

ok.i'll go play it now
[Edited 10/27/06 12:55pm]

JackieBlue said:

ha.....there is a REASON 4 that.

woogiebear said:

Well, KISS MY GRITS That was the so-called "urban legend" when Al B. first blew up - Kyle West was his cousin who produced the music and "broke it down", keyboard solo-style.

There was this obscure song that by this artist - Cheyenne (if I remember correctly) called "I've Waited" that also uses the whole "Kyle West break it down" and the keyboards sound like they were lifted off of an Al B. Sure track...

Graycap23 said:

Okay, so my friend just told me that Al B. sang on the track. No wonder...

JackieBlue said:

No, Al isn't singing on the track (well, I've never heard anything about that). Al says that TR and GR stole the song from him, which is why it sounds like an Al B. Sure! song.

I need a link where Teddy confirmed being Kyle West. Of course, I've never seen a picture of Kyle...

woogiebear said:

Are you serious?? I never knew that! I thought Prince was the only one who used pseudonyms on his recording projects,lol.

woogiebear said:

I prefer the debut album.I went out in 1991 and bought 'Private Times...' and I ended up selling it.Couldn't get into it,no matter how hard I tried.

AlexdeParis said:

Really? Hmm, never heard that. But if Teddy is Kyle, then did he really steal it? I wonder why Teddy hasn't fessed up to this supposed alias by now.

SoulAlive said:

I have it and never got into it, either. That's why I think "In Effect Mode" is a damn near legendary album (of the 80s, at the very least), even if Al B Sure isn't the greatest artist.

VinnyM27 said:

'In Effect Mode' is a great album,and it's refreshingly brief,so there's not alot of filler.He kept it simple and to the point.The follow-up 'Private Times...' is too long and boring,and there's not a single song on there that is as fresh and inspired as "Nite and Day".

Private Times had a bizzare sound quality to it, it sounded kinda weak and hollow to me for some reason. It was missing the deep bass sounds and layered vocals from the first album; and if I remember it right (been a while since i listened to it) he didn't use his falsetto much on the second album either. It was an alright album considering it was a bit of a precursor to what we would later hear with Jodeci, but not my favorite.

The late 80s there were some really good R&B albums coming out. I loved Guy's debut, Al B Sure's, New Edition, and of course Keith Sweat's debut, and Babyface.

Al b sure is the Cult Hero of this Forum






Why?
[Edited 10/31/06 6:40am]

SoulAlive said:

The cut for me has never been "Night and Day"...the song that sold me on "In Effect Mode" was "Off On Your Own". "Night and Day" is a clasic but the more upbeat songs are the most inspired! I also love "If "Oooh This Love is So".