''Serious'' is an album by the American musical group

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

, released in 1989. It was the group's first album for

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

. "Out of My Mind" and "Have You Had Your Love Today?" were released as singles. The O'Jays supported the album by playing the

Hampton Jazz Festival {{about, the Hampton Jazz Festival in Virginia, the Lionel Hampton International Jazz Festival in Idaho, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival The Hampton Jazz Festival is a major musical event started in 1968, and features many of the world's major jazz ar ...

and touring with

LeVert LeVert was an American R&B vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Formed in 1983, LeVert was composed of Sean and Gerald Levert (sons of Eddie Levert, founder and lead singer of R&B/Soul vocal group O'Jays) and Marc Gordon.Wells, ...

. The album peaked at No. 114 on the ''Billboard'' 200. ''Serious'' was regarded as a comeback album.

Production

Eddie Levert Edward Willis Levert (born June 16, 1942) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist of The O'Jays. He is the father of Gerald Levert (1966–2006) and Sean Levert (1968–2008) Biography Levert was born in Bessemer, Alabama, but ...

wanted to modernize the group's sound by heeding his sons' musical advice.

Gerald Levert Gerald Edward Levert (July 13, 1966 – November 10, 2006) was an Americans, American singer-songwriter and producer. Levert was best known for singing with his brother, Sean Levert, and friend Marc Gordon of the vocal group LeVert. Levert ...

coproduced four of the album's songs. "Pot Can't Call the Kettle Black" is about parents criticizing the musical tastes of their children. "Have You Had Your Love Today?" was influenced rhythmically by Eddie Kendrick's " Keep On Truckin'".

Critical reception

The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' deemed the album "a nice mix of dance cuts and romantic ballads." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' called it "a model example of how to update your style without selling out." ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' opined that "Eddie with his gale-force vocals and Walter Williams with his cool baritone and measured tenor squalls are still the best vocal tandem in male-group soul." ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'' concluded that the group "may be one of the last remaining examples of the raw rhythmic emotion that gave birth to that particular niche of music called rhythm 'n' blues."

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the group "opted for a more high-tech 'urban contemporary' approach with ''Serious''... Obviously well aware of what younger R&B units like Guy, Levert ... and Today were up to, the veteran soulsters incorporated 'new jack swing' and hip-hop elements and made it clear they were intent on changing with the times." ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' noted that "the younger generation's skittery hip-hop beats don't mesh with the old man's rock-solid R&B foundation."

Track listing

References

{{authority control The O'Jays albums 1989 albums category:EMI Records albums