After a half decade's absence and a change in lead singers to Jacci McGhee, the Family Stand returned in early 1998 with Connected. Less rock-oriented than 1992's Moon in Scorpio, the album is still more daring than many other recent retro-soul discs; shimmering string sections and guitars are put in service not only of seduction numbers like "Keepin' You Satisfied," with its group vocal interplay and sly nod to "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" but also a tough-minded remembrance of Tupac Shakur on "What Must I Do Now?"