Public Announcement - Don't Hold Back 'RCA Records Label

Tracks list

As one-time support singers for R. Kelly, the Chicago quartet Public
Announcement were afforded serious consideration strictly on the basis of their
former affiliation with the king of bump-and-grind slow jams. Their debut album
in 1998 All Work, No Play was a mild success on the strength of the
not-so-subtle single "Body Bumpin'." Their sophomore release is a peculiar
combination of soft-spoken ballads and over-the-top bedroom banter. PA are not
particularly talented songwriters, nor are their voices tremendously refined,
yet they pull off their style through an intangible presence and sense of vibe
(something their more talented former partner has also patented). The
beg-and-plead misogyny of tracks like "Papi" and "Rithickulous" are horrid
rip-offs of Sisqo's already horrendous "Thong Song," but they are countered by
the more captivating storylines of "Jane Doe" and "Slow Dance." PA is unable to
duplicate the inner-city melodrama of R. Kelly's work, but there are inviting
elements to the album. Furthermore, some tracks seem to borrow their plotlines
from a Jerry Springer episode; although seemingly reprehensible, they manage to
entertain somehow. In the end, there is nothing here that breaks out of the
stale mold that is contemporary R&B, but the boys with the Windy City pipes do
handle the formula par excellence.



1.01 - Public Announcement - Don't Hold Back featuring Swing (3:38)
1.02 - Public Announcement - Long Long Summer (We Can) (3:49)
1.03 - Public Announcement - Mamacita (3:46)
1.04 - Public Announcement - U Tryin' To Ride (3:53)
1.05 - Public Announcement - Man Ain't Supposed To Cry (4:18)
1.06 - Public Announcement - Slow Dance (4:42)
1.07 - Public Announcement - Rithickulous (3:58)
1.08 - Public Announcement - John Doe featuring MZ Lelee (4:23)
1.09 - Public Announcement - Papi (3:47)
1.10 - Public Announcement - The Reverend "Speak On It"/Spilt Milk (5:41)
1.11 - Public Announcement - Step On Pt. II (3:57)
1.12 - Public Announcement - When I See You (4:48)
1.13 - Public Announcement - Lose A Love (4:49)

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