Smooth And Melodic!
I like this cd because it is one of my favorite Najee albums. My all-time favorite one is "Just An Illusion" [1992]", which has the lowest ratings by experts of any of his albums. As far as Tokyo Blue is concerned, the following tracks are my favorites from the cd: talkin', stay, cruise control, i'll be good to you {feat. Vesta Williams}, nation's call, tokyo blue and my old friend. I got this cd because I have the tape but needed it on cd in order to make a Najee Collection that will have good quality songs. I would have transferred the tape from analog to digital if I was unable to find a copy of this cd. Thankfully, I didn't have to. As everyone may know by now, cd quality is waaaaaaaaaaaaay better than tape quality. Although, I love and still listen to and make tapes for my vehicle - Yes, I still have a tape/cassette deck in my vehicle, hahahahahahaha! By the way, I first heard this tape around the time it was released in 1990. An older man used to play it in the cafeteria where I ate at (and sometimes worked at), along with other Najee cassettes. So I asked him "who's that artist?", then he told me that it was Najee. At the time, I was mainly into current hip hop/rap and 1970's old school slow jams. Anyway, I became an "instant" Najee fan.
I went out and bought all of his tapes, which were only 3 at the time: Najee's Theme [1986], Day By Day [1988] & Tokyo Blue [1990]. Since then, I bought all of his albums (tape or cd version): Just An Illusion [1992], Share My World [1994] and 1995's "Songs In The Key Of Life", which was the last one I bought. I like all of them.
Back to "Tokyo Blue", it is smooth and jazzy, with a little bit of singing and talking. I'm not a big jazz person, but when I like some music (any kind), I like to make sure I get it. I don't like the last three songs as much as the other songs on the album (buenos aires, superwoman {feat. Freddie Jackson} & only at night). But I like them, just not as much as the others. His albums "Just An Illusion" & "Tokyo Blue" are the only ones that I totally enjoy from front to back. I actually even helped Najee to gain fans. Yes, I did, because in 1992 when "Just An Illusion" came out, I used to listen to it, along with Brand Nubian, Gang Starr, Nice N Smooth, etc., and at least one of the frequent passengers in my car liked it, then they bought it and introduced it to at least one other person that I knew, who I heard say to my passenger "that Najee is pretty smooth, man". The person who said that was only into down south (country) rap. See, I told you. Hahahahaha!
But "Tokyo Blue" is worth picking up if you like smooth jazz that's not to hard to understand the point of the song. Everything is clear to the mind and ears.Read full review
