C-Note's debut album, however, is neither. The group's vocals, mostly ensemble, are strong enough to make many of these cookie-cutter tunes at least palatable, but the ethnic flavor one would hope for has, with only a couple of exceptions, been neutralized in favor of generic imaging that makes Taco Bell look authentic in comparison. C-Note has its moments, even beyond the Full Force-produced single "Wait Till I Get Home," which is featured in both English and Spanish versions. A smoothly melodic remake of Guy's 1989 hit "I Like" displays C-Note's pleasant vocal blend. "Right Next to Me" has a finger-snapping, shopping mall parking lot quality, and "Feels So Good" is uptempo, soul-pop ear candy.

The rest is uneventful at best, innocuous at worst, filled with sophomoric come-ons such as "Tell me where it hurts now, baby/ and I'll do my best to make it better" and promises of eternal love and devotion, though you get the sense that what these guys are really after is nookie. And David "D'Lo" Perez, whose spoken bass parts are deployed on these songs as C-Note's secret sex weapon, sounds like just another guy who thinks he can do a good Barry White imitation. In the end there's nothing terribly different about C-Note's kind of love, and the group is more likely to be submerged by the crest of the Backstreet-Ricky wave it so clearly was designed to ride.

— Gary Graff