June 20 - June 27, 1 9 9 6
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***1/2 Planet Soul

ENERGY & HARMONY

(Strictly Rhythm)

From Miami (Florida) comes a club kids' dance-music CD that ranges from the lighthearted electric beats typical of Miami disco to clunky-footed hard-house without overplaying its hand. Partly that's because DJ George Acosta, the creator of Planet Soul, generously submits his beats to enhancing his female singers' sex appeal -- the focus of "Set U Free" is the way Nadine Renee charms the mike. Likewise, one feels Brenda Dee twisting and shouting "What ever u got" and "Something on My Mind," rather than advertising Acosta's DJ skill. But the skill is there too, and hard-house thump anthems like "Cosmic Orgasm," "See Da Light," and "Look into My Eyes" bomp and clang and give off plenty of purple haze without slipping into garage-ish or techno cliché as the music carries the singer beyond words and melody -- and makes her like the feeling.

-- Michael Freedberg

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