by Alex Henderson
Expectations ran incredibly high when the time came for Lisa Stansfield to deliver a second album, but unfortunately, she didn't escape the infamous sophomore slump. Real Love, although far from a bad album, clearly falls short of Affection's unmitigated excellence. Nonetheless, there are some definite gems here -- including the poigant and heartbreaking ballad &All Woman,& the spunky &Soul Deep,& and the sleek &Set Your Loving Free.& While most of Real Love is at least decent and is far superior to most '90s R&B, Stansfield is a major talent who -- as the outstanding Affection quite clearly demonstrated -- can do much better than &merely& good.