CHANTAY SAVAGE
THIS TIME
RCA, 1999
In my ears, CHANTAY SAVAGE has progressed an awful lot
since her dance / house oriented early recordings. Chantay's
second set from 1996, I Will Survive, was already a step
in a more soulful direction, and her latest CD This Time
(US RCA 67607) proves to be an astonishingly strong soul set with
extremely powerful vocals by Chantay.
The musical setting on the album is rather sparse, but not
overtly "street"; many of the tracks are modern beat
ballads in a Keith Sweat/ R.Kelly / Joe vein, Keith Sweat
himself being a producer on one track. Chantay has co-written
most of the tracks together with her producers, of which Daniel
Weatherspoon has produced the most soulful tunes.
Chantay has a dark, impressive tone in her voice, and when she
also uses it in a gritty way, she really stands out among the
current R&B chart songstresses. Just listen to her delivery
on the gospel-inclined ballad For Your Love, and you know
that she really should not be compared to the monicas and
monifahs of the world but rather to artists like Kelly Price,
Vesta Williams or even Ann Nesby.
However, the most arresting cut on display is the surprising, Anita
Baker-ish mellow soul creeper Funny Ways, which is set
in a delicious quality soul backdrop with a smattering of real
instruments, and Chantay sings the vocals in an incredibly
superb, spine-tingling way. The closing three minutes are sheer
heaven, with Chantay wailing in a delightful Baker-ish mood over
the backing that is dominated by the jazzy piano soloing, solid
back beat and funky bass licks. Marvellous stuff and definitely
the peak cut of the whole year 1999 so far - no kidding!
The "smoothed out" version of the opening cut My Oh
My is spiced by some nice vibes playing and horn samples over
the solid mid-tempo groove - nothing wrong with the original
version, either. The title track This Time is a classy
traditional soul ballad with a quite smooth background, and the
same can be said about Just Can't Take This. Of the
several soulful beat ballads, Can It Be, Round and Round
and If You Like are the most memorable, even if the last
mentioned is melodically a dead ringer for Joe's The Love
Scene.
An album that should not be overlooked by any modern soul fan.
-IT
The review from the issue 3/99.
Other Albums of the Month in 1999
Albums of the Month in 1998
Albums of the Month in 1997
Other CD reviews
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