Stanley Clarke: School Days (Nemperor)

IF YOU'VE heard either of Clarke's two previous Nemperor albums then you're already familiar with the music here. The basic conception remains the same — some up-tempo fusion numbers, some slower pieces, an acoustic bit, some ambitious arrangements (strings, brass, moogs) that pan out into seductive MOR tonalities, i.e., a well balanced set. The musicianship is impeccable, the sound clean, the presentation pleasantly unpretentious. Why, then, is the record so damn dull?