Three years after his life came crashing down, Boy George has returned with his second solo LP, ”High Hat” (Virgin). It contains some autobiography (”You Are My Heroin”), a little bit of reggae (”Kipsy”), a taste of soul and enough dance music to cross over from the Top 40 to the black and adult contemporary charts.
George reaches deeper on ”High Hat,” forgoing the light melodic hooks that characterized the surface-level appeal of the Culture Club albums. ”High Hat” also stands apart from the music jumble he presented on ”Sold,” his 1987 solo debut.
While ”Sold” appeared confused, ”High Hat” moves cleanly and without much mystery. From the romantically morose ”You Are My Heroin” to the reggae/rap (a la Shinehead) combination on the ”Kipsy Rap,” George samples, chooses what he likes, then strips it down to its base.
George depended on production help from two duos to turn ”High Hat” out of the studio. Teddy Riley and Gene Griffin (producers for Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat and Guy) split the studio with Prince`s drummer, Bobby Z., and Mike Pela (Sade`s producer). Their influence is found in the album`s diversity and the lack of overdramatic embellishments or cheeky instrumentals George was prey to in the past.
While ”High Hat” isn`t a landmark in his career, it is a solid album and an indication that Boy George is determined to return.
