IN BRIEF: : *** The Whispers, “More of the Night,” Capitol.: <i> Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic). </i>

To longtime fans, the Whispers have always been famous for their refined-but-raunchy love ballads--and most of those ballads have been written by group member Nicholas Caldwell, possessor of one of the most lascivious minds in black pop this side of Prince. This time around, Caldwell left the composing to other songwriters, so what you have is a collection of soulful, well-crafted tunes that soft-pedal the randiness in favor of the debonair, gentlemen-of-R&B; image. Nothing here is cutting edge or particularly hip. No surprise for die-hard followers of the Whispers, but certainly no disappointment, either.