Lucy Pearl - Lucy Pearl

While its songs aren't always as memorable as those of Tony Toni Toné--the million-selling but still underappreciated band that spawned singer Raphael Saadiq--the debut of R&B trio Lucy Pearl does flash some of the same smart, unpredictable spirit. Along with ex-En Voguer Dawn Robinson and former Tribe Called Quest beatmaster Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Saddiq brings his trademark eye for detail to the funky party anthem "Dance Tonight," the school-days nostalgia of "Remember the Times," and the self-explanatory rager "Can't Stand Your Mother." Guests Q-Tip and Snoop Dogg are slyly affectionate on the love-jones celebration "You." Finally, it's certain that Lucy Pearl will be remembered as 2000's only neo-soul album to include both a hard-rock workout ("Hollywood") and a college marching band. --Rickey Wright