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The Roc Project produces a solid effort for their debut album, giving listeners a taste of everything from freestyling pop to house to midtempo ballads. Never encompasses a wide range of musical flavors, which works very well to its advantage. Ray Roc producing an album of "Never (Past Tense)" wannabes would have been tiring, but instead, variety proves the spice of life! The album's first two singles, "Never (Past Tense)" and "Déjà Vu (It's Hard To Believe)" are naturally included here, complete with a bonus remix of each tune to close out the album.


One of the Never's stand-out tracks, "Promise Me," could actually do very well at AC radio if marketed correctly. Starting out sounding almost like a country song, it plays like it could've been written for N-Sync or O-Town (it even reminded me a little bit of "All Or Nothing"). A natural choice for the album's third single would have to be the track "Twelve Steps," co-written by Jack D. Elliot. It would be interesting to see how different remixers could take this to the next level, up from the "safe" production of the album version.

There are a few filler tracks -- "Running Away," "I Don't Understand," and "So Glad U Called," although the latter does have a pretty catchy hook. However, the midtempo "Sing My Song," another one of Never's highlights, allows Tina Novak's vocals to shine through quite nicely, moreso than on any other song. While not a dance song, its Mediterranean style and mushy chords provide a perfect groove which breaks away from the standard 4/4 house beat of most dance albums.

In short, there's a little something for everyone on this album. Cher fans will appreciate "Never Shoulda Let You Go" for its Metro-reminiscent strings, pop/dance fans will like the inclusion of "Never" and "Now You Wanna Know," and die-hard remix collectors will want to pick up this CD for the hard-to-find JJ Flores Remix of "Déjà Vu", the full mix of which was not released on the US CD5. All in all, a great album; and I for one can't wait for more material from The Roc Project.