Soul Express Album of the Month - September 2006
Buy this album from our CD Shop
MIKI HOWARD:
Pillow Talk - Miki Howard Sings the Classics
US Shanachie CD, 2006
1) I Can't Stand the Rain - 3:47 2) Do That to Me One More Time - 4:16 3)
Go Away Little Boy - 3:26 4) Pillow Talk - 4:06 5) This Masquerade - 5:40 6)
Inseparable - 4:13 7) Lowdown - 4:36 8) Misty Blue - 3:37 9) Just Don't Want to
Be Lonely - 3:50 10) Which Way Is Up - 4:27
I know we are all getting tired of this "singing the classics" formula, but the artists
themselves still love the idea of recording an album-ful of their personal all-time favourites,
and that's all that the US big labels seem to publish these days from established soul
singers. So here we go, the fourth Shanachie release of all-cover CD this year - the
previous ones by Phil Perry, Maysa and Glenn Jones were also all reviewed
in my latest
Upfront Soul column.
Like the other Shanachie cover version CDs, Miki's album contains
both programmed and real instrumentation. As a singer, Miki has developed enormously
since the early days of her solo career, and today I rate her as one of the
most breathtaking female soul singers. Just take a listen to Miki’s reading of
the old Natalie Cole smash Inseparable, and you know what I mean:
from the very few seconds when Miki starts wailing the tune you get that
spine-tingling feel that only the first-rate soul singers can create.
Furthermore, I love Miki’s instantly captivating version of Boz Scaggs 1976 smash Lowdown,
which was also covered by Jazzhole (with Marlon Saunders)
recently. Miki’s version of the Leon Russell song This Masquerade
was not inspired by George Benson’s version but Shirley Bassey’s
reading of the song, and it has been arranged in a traditional jazz setting
with Kim Waters on saxophone. A splendid version! Dorothy Moore’s classic
Misty Blue and Marlena Shaw’s bravura Go Away Little Boy also
get mellow sax-drenched backdrops which surely sound good to me. Instead, for
some reason Ann Peebles’ I Can’t Stand the Rain has been set in a
funky, guitar-driven setting with some rocky and bluesy overtones.
Benny Latimore
has proved that Captain & Tennille’s Do That to Me One More Time
can be turned into a passionate soul ballad, and while Miki’s reading has a
more pop-oriented feel, it is quite listenable. The CD as a whole has received
surprisingly sour criticism, so I reckon that the younger generation would have
preferred more funky and programmed tracks like the closing tune Which Way
Is Up, originally a dance funk hit for Stargard, but for me it’s the
weakest cut on display. Robert “WaWa” LeGrand on guitar is not a new Wah
Wah Watson!
Look forward for our complete Miki Howard story to be available on our online pages
later this year - meanwhile have a look at the
discography of Miki's
albums.
-Ismo Tenkanen
Soul Express
editor
Other Fresh CD Reviews
Albums
of the Month in 2006
Albums
of the Month in 2005
Albums
of the Month in 2004
Albums
of the Month in 2003
Albums
of the Month in 2002
Albums
of the Month in 2001
Albums
of the Month in 2000
Albums
of the Month in 1999
Albums
of the Month in 1998
Albums
of the Month in 1997
Other CD
reviews
Back to
our home page
|