So why is En Vogue’s Funky Divas on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
When I think about albums that were released in 1992 off the top of my head, my first reaction is to think about what a tremendous time this was for music generally, and particularly for alternative rock and hip hop.
We’re talking about albums like R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People, Blind Melon’s self-titled debut, Nirvana’s Incesticide. And then we’re also talking about Beastie Boys’ Check Your Head and Dr. Dre’s The Chronic.
Now that I’ve rolled out close to 380 of the best 1,000 albums ever, it’s really fun to go into the tag page for a specific year, as we can do for 1992. This let’s me quickly also see a ton of great albums, ranging from L7’s Bricks Are Heavy (#654) to Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth’s Mecca and the Soul Brother (#985).
I mention all of this because in the midst of all this amazing music from 1992, there was also En Vogue’s Funky Divas. “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” and “Free Your Mind” were both megahits for good reason: big, fun, ultra catchy R&B pop songs designed to rock the kids at home via MTV as effectively as lighting up the club.
Beyond the catchy hooks and top-notch production, the key to it all is the dazzling voices possessed by the En Vogue quartet: Terry Ellis, Cindy Herron, Dawn Robinson, and Rhona Bennett. And take this with a grain or so of salt, but if Wikipedia is to believed, they are “often considered one of the best female vocal groups of all time.”
And from the music video standpoint, it doesn’t hurt that En Vogue can dance and look really good doing it. Side note: I always enjoy when some kind of announcer guy voice announces, “Now it’s time for a breakdown” in the middle of “My Lovin’.”
“Free Your Mind” effectively mixes in a heavy metal guitar into the R&B dance music mix.
“Giving Him Something He Can Feel” was also a big hit, a softer yet still powerful and sultry R&B number.
Some stats & info about En Vogue – Funky Divas
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? R&B, Pop Music, Dance Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was Funky Divas released? 1992
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #621 out of 1,000
En Vogue’s Funky Divas on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from En Vogue’s Funky Divas that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Free your mind and the rest will follow. Be color blind: don’t be so shallow.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.