After achieving worldwide stardom in the '80s,
Ocean took a three-year recording hiatus in the early '90s. This resulting comeback album found him offering strong melodies, lyrics, and vocals once again, yet on occasion also showed him falling victim to current production trends. The set's highlights are the numbers produced by
Steely & Clevie,
R. Kelly and Dorsey "Bob" Robinson, while the tracks done by club stalwarts Hula & K. Fingers and new-school R&B figure
Timmy Allen are weak and formulaic. Throughout it all,
Ocean's performances are bright and compelling, as evidenced by the vivid "Everyday Sunshine" and uplifting "Pick Up the Pieces" -- both featuring well-crafted, round-style vocal arrangements. And though
Time to Move On is primarily dance-oriented, the album contains lovely R&B/pop ballads with
Ocean's signature, passion-filled delivery via "Rose" and "Everything's So Different Without You." This set isn't as consistently unforgettable as earlier works like
Love Zone or Nights, but is still considerably strong. ~ Justin M. Kantor