New Dimensions

Unquestionably, the Three Degrees enjoyed their finest moment when paired with Philly International masterminds Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Unquestionably, too, their union with Eurodisco guru Giorgio Moroder was less an artistic decision than a commercial one — Moroder, after all, had the hottest sound around. And the Three Degrees hadn't been the same since Prince Charles called them his favorite group. So, the hip meets the hapless — and stranger things had succeeded in the past. Unfortunately, New Dimensions would not be so blessed. For starters, anyone looking for a new "Love to Love You, Baby" will be sorely disappointed. Bland arrangements and weak disco dominate this set, even if the trio themselves sound fine. It's just that everything around them, including Moroder's throbbing motorik and the driving Eurodisco beats, sound horribly out of place. Two songs, "Givin' Up, Givin' In" and "Woman in Love," would deliver minor R&B chart hits, and that's where New Dimensions is at its best — both are enjoyable, if insubstantial, dancefloor foot-tappers, although the latter would probably been helped if it had been a cover of the BeeGees' tune. Sadly, it wasn't. At the end of the day, then, it was just too late in the decade for the Three Degrees. They epitomized an earlier age, and that's where they should have stayed. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Or new dimensions.