Z
1997034
2000
So Enuff Z' Nuff (or more accurately Chip Znuff and Donnie Vie) stick to their guns and reach album number ten. What a long, strange trip, and though the boys seem embittered and battered, they wear the sense of survival and experience well. This stash of songs retains their trademark melodic gestures, and like the luminous bands they emulate (Beatles, Cheap Trick), Enuff Z' Nuff comes off as stars no matter how many units the quartet actually sells. While each Enuff Z' Nuff record contains a couple keepers (gotta go with the power poppy "Your Heart's No Good ..." and the tricky throwback "Bang On" this time around), 10 has a coherence and maturity that makes it a sweet spin from start to finish. And most of the time, 10 really rocks. (Odd how Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz and Enuff Z' Nuff all recorded different "Fly Away" tracks within a short radius.) The Japanese edition of 10 sports slicker graphics and smoother sequencing, looking and flowing better than the domestic or Netherlandish, and tacking on the rave-up "No Place to Go". Maybe that's why Enuff Z' Nuff sells better there. Ultimately, the alright run through the Iggy Pop caricature "Jean Genie" blows away the languid remake of the magical "Everything Works If You Let It," wherein Enuff Z' Nuff uncharacteristically tries to substitute dark for light.
-STONE, Cheap Trash NYC
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