In Brief:

** 1/2 Levert, “Rope a Dope Style,” Atlantic. Play this album once and half-an-hour later you might be hard-pressed to remember most of what you heard, save for maybe the rugged, rough, and nasty title cut. There’s nothing here that matches the cozy, easy-going charm of “Casanova,” one of this group’s biggest past hits. The prideful boast of “Nobody Does It Better” sounds downright feeble when you compare much of this album to current releases by groups like Bell Biv DeVoe, Guy and Tony! Toni! Tone!

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five stars (a classic.)