A TASTE OF HONEY

Inevitably, many groups will suffer from the dreaded sophomore curse -- they'll impress you with a promising debut album, only to disappoint you with an inferior second album. But Taste of Honey didn't let its audience down on its generally impressive sophomore effort, Another Taste. While this album didn't contain a chart-topper hit like "Boogie Oogie Oogie," the addictive "Do It Good" did reach number 13 on the R&B charts. Another Taste is full of irresistible soul-disco grooves, which range from the lush "Dance" and the dreamy "The Rainbow's End" to the exuberant "Take the Boogae or Leave It." Because "Boogie Oogie Oogie" had sold two million copies, it stands to reason that Capitol would, in 1979, encourage Honey to give this album a lot of dancefloor appeal. But to their credit, Janice Marie Johnson and Hazel Payne don't try to turn any of the dance numbers into a remake of "Boogie Oogie Oogie"; in fact, they deserve high marks for making this album as unpredictable as it is. And while up-tempo material dominates Another Taste, "Let's Begin" and "Your Love" remind us how appealing the group's slow jams could be.