Tropic of Love (SeasonsYearsTax:1992)

JC Lodge's sultry ''Telephone Love'' breezed through radio in '88 and became the first huge club hit from Jamaica since Bob Marley's death. With that song, the London-born Lodge put Jamaica's current ''dance-hall'' style on the map in this country-though her smooth, sexy tone didn't necessarily reflect the rootsy style of most dance-hall music. None of her first four solo records, no matter how full of mellow love songs-vocally she's Jamaica's Anita Baker-ever took off here. Now, with this one, her fifth (and her first to be widely distributed) she has taken a more polished turn. Her vocals-ranging from the jazzy cool of Sade (on ''Home Is Where the Hurt Is,'' the first single) to the sultry sound of a sex kitten (on ''Prey,'' which kicks off with the theme from Mission: Impossible) swell over a sea of seductive rhythms, accented with snare drums, echoing ''dub''-style bass lines, and catchy hooks. On nearly every track, she sings a warm, even steamy tune.