AMG Review of To the Max

Ron Wynn
All Music Guide

Since her "Telephone Love" hit, reggae songstress J.C. Lodge has been repeatedly playing the midtempo romantic seductress game; this disc continues that pattern. Lodge also tries her hand at social commentary with the original "I Am Someone," a tune about interracial marriages and what happens to the couple's children. It is a well-meaning number, but Lodge sounds more hurt than angry...She is quite good on the remake of Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You," striking the right note of tribute and romance while wisely trying not to emulate Riperton. This is uneven, but as good as can be expected in early-'90s reggae circles. It's not completely slack or totally roots, but somewhere in between.