*** Vanessa Williams, “The Comfort Zone,” Mercury....

*** Vanessa Williams, “The Comfort Zone,” Mercury. Williams has the talent to cut a dance album that would put her up in Paula Abdul’s rarefied atmosphere. That’s evidenced by such sexy, fortified funk jams as “Running Back to You” and her remake of the Isley Brothers’ “Work to Do.” But Abdul can relax. Williams’ performance on ballads indicates that her heart and solid future aren’t restricted to the dance-music realm.

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