by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Working with producer Tommy Sims -- the man who produced Eric Clapton's hit &Change the World& -- evidently inspired Michael McDonald, since Blue Obsession is his best record in nearly ten years. Stylistically, it's similar to every record he's made since going solo in the early '80s -- namely, it's a combination of adult contemporary ballads and lightly grooving, adult contemporary pop-soul -- but the difference is that the quality of the material is uniformly strong. In addition to two covers (&Ain't That Peculiar,& &Down By the River&), there's a selection of new songs largely co-written by McDonald and Sims. While there are no crossover pop hits on the level of &I Keep Forgettin'& or &Sweet Freedom,& it's a strong collection of songs with only a few slow moments. It's a record that shows McDonald maturing quite gracefully.