Hearsay

As the itunes reviewer noted, this was one of the best produced albums (at that time) from uber producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. That is not to say that Alexander O'Neal didn't come by his success honestly. His was one of the strongest voices of the era and showed it on this release. "Sunshine" and "Crying Overtime" were captured with a depth and feeling that, really, no one else could have done, while "Fake" and "Criticize", both bonafide hits, were carried off with a swagger and panache that only could have come from Flyte Tyme and the Minneapolis sound, which Alexander O'Neal, Jimmy Jam, and Lewis had as much do with as Prince. Including this release, Alexander O'Neal put together a run of about 4 great albums in the 80's, along with Michael, Prince, and Madonna. His standard of excellence suffers not one whit when measured against those titans. If you don't believe me, just play this spectacular release from beginning to end and you'll experience it for yourself, no need for hearsay.