Price still experiences sorrow in matters of the heart. In "Secret Love" the singer refuses to hide her love any longer.
"Kiss Test" is a clever, contemporary version of Betty Everett's "It's in His Kiss," while "Don't Say Goodbye" and "You Complete Me" are lush invitations to constancy, celebrations of the joy of commitment.
Though there is plenty of romantic doubt on the album - as in life - Price favors affirmations. The key is that she's also a full-bodied singer, with a rich, glorious alto reminiscent of Aretha Franklin (though never as rough-edged), Shirley Murdock and Jennifer Holliday. 1 on the R&B charts without benefit of a video, a rarity that validates radio's instincts while shaming video channels unlikely to play it because Price is a full-bodied woman. The song, however, is romantic blues, examining feelings of hurt and betrayal directed not at a wayward lover, but at the former best friend who enabled his infidelity.
That's obvious not only in the album's only overtly gospel track, the majestic "Lord of All," but in her breakthrough chart-topping single, "Friend of Mine," where the backing chorus's chromatic harmonies are pure church choir. Like most of the great soul divas, Price got her grounding in the church. She's also a top-notch producer (she cowrote and did the vocal arrangement on Evans's "My First Love"), so it was only a matter of time before Price got her own shot, and she makes a spectacular entrance with "Soul of a Woman" (T-Neck/Island).
FAITH EVANS MY FIRST LOVE PRO
Blige, Aretha Franklin, Brian McKnight and SWV) and session pro (those are her soaring vocals on Mase's "Feels So Good" and Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo Money Mo Problems"). Like Evans, Kelly Price first made a name for herself as a backup singer (for Mariah Carey), songwriter (with hits for Mary J. To hear a Sound Bite from this album, call Post-Haste at 20 and press 8181. song "Lately I" is formulaic shlock pop lacking the authority of Evans's own testimonial. It provokes a good vocal performance, but one with little genuine investment. Babyface's "Never Gonna Let You Go" feels as if it rolled off his normally dependable assembly line for romantic anthems. The album's most disappointing elements come courtesy of its name songwriters. Evans cowrote most of the songs on the album, including "No Way," a lush ballad that makes palpable the hurt and confusion of broken promises and untethered commitments. Much better are two supple, Chucki Thompson-produced tracks: The languid "Caramel Kisses" (featuring the vocal group 112) suggests romantic delight and appreciation that goes beyond obvious pleasures and "My First Love," a warm remembrance, gives Evans a chance to stretch vocally without straining. Her eponymous, ballad-heavy debut tracked the distance between the emotional gloom of "You Used to Love Me" and the giddy sensual anticipation of "Soon as I Get Home." Those parameters remain intact with longing ballads like "Anything You Need," "Sunny Days," "Lately I" and "No Way," and bouncier tracks like "All Night Long" and the funky first single, "Love Like This." Evans does best when she's got a genuine melody to work with: "All Night Long," for instance, favors groove over melody and Evans never quite connects emotionally (she's also burdened by the slack rap of Bad Boy honcho Puff Daddy). It's generally upbeat, though traditional matters of the heart can still weigh heavily on the music. "Keep the Faith" (Bad Boy) is Evans's first album since her platinum debut three years ago. As Evans puts it in that title track, "It won't be long until the day/ Things will turn around if you just/ Just stand your ground." What's more important, she adds, is that "even though you may have to cry, it will be all right/ Put your faith in the one who makes you strong."įaith becomes the bedrock for Faith Evans, as does the notion that you can't let life pass you by. "I've paid my dues, as you can see/ Been in all kinds of drama in my life series/ The world needs to know that," Evans sings.
Faith Evans not only titles her new album "Keep the Faith," she makes sure that particular message is heard loud and clear in the inspirational title track and "Life Will Pass You By." The latter, which interpolates elements of Angela Bofill's "Gotta Make It Up to You," is the album's most clearly autobiographical song, with Evans addressing the 1997 murder of her husband, Christopher Wallace, a k a the Notorious B.I.G.