The ladies of
J.J. Fad will forever be remembered for their one and only hit, "Supersonic," and rightfully so, yet their debut album of the same name does have its merits, especially in retrospect.
Supersonic is very much a product of its time and place, namely 1988 Los Angeles, which, of course, brings to mind
Straight Outta Compton-era
N.W.A, whose production team (
Dr. Dre,
Yella, and
the Arabian Prince) is notably at the helm of this ten-track album. Here,
Dre and company don't look to the future of West Coast hardcore rap as they concurrently did on
Straight Outta Compton; rather, they look back to their respective mid-'80s West Coast electro beginnings. This old-school style of beatmaking suits MC J.B., Baby D, and Sassy C well as that's precisely the style of their rapping, not to mention their lingo ("time to come correct," "cold gettin' stupid," etc.) and fashion sense (peep the wonderful cover photo -- spandex, stopwatches, gold chains, big sunglasses, bigger hair, etc.). There unfortunately aren't any lost gems here on
Supersonic that rival the magnificence of the title track, but there's a great cut-up instrumental remix ("Eeenie Meenie Beats") along with some impressive rhyming and plenty of amazing electro-rap beats. Along the way you'll frustratingly have to endure some awkward pop-isms, chief among them the sung hook of "Way Out" and the entirety of "Is It Love." If you can overlook these moments, or better yet skip over them, there's a bounty of old-school delights here, not to mention the party-starting title track. Not an album to be taken too seriously,
Supersonic remains a fun novelty that deserves the occasional revival, even if only for the sake of slight amusement. ~ Jason Birchmeier