SOLO, TONED-DOWN EL

“EL DEBARGE.” El DeBarge. Gordy. As the lead singer of the family quintet DeBarge and the writer/producer of its best songs, El was always the most charismatic and talented member. One listen to his exquisite phrasing on the group’s 1983 hit “Love Me in a Special Way” or his sunny pop instincts on last year’s “Rhythm of the Night” told you why it seemed like such a good idea for El to branch out and go solo.

The only problem is, with the exception of the sophisti-pop fluff of “Who’s Johnny” and “Private Line,” DeBarge is laden with tunes that don’t inspire him to any dizzying, falsetto-laced heights. He didn’t write or produce a single song, and that may have something to do with the emotional distance he maintains throughout this nine-track package. For someone who used to sing with his heart on his sleeve in the kind of piercing upper registers that could shatter glass, toned-down reserve is hardly the way to go for the sake of career advancement. The tunes he sings here are serviceable, but no match for the sublime excessiveness heard in the El of old.