NATHAN HEATHMAN
RIGHT HERE RIGHT NOW (UK Expansion 2001)
Until We Meet Again - In A Hurry
To Get Nowhere - Accept The Change - Contrast
Emotion - Right Here Right Now - I Can Feel It
Will Get Better - Hi Dahlin (Hi Darling) - Last
Time Trying - Just Kicking It - Guess I Really
Didn't Know You At All - Not Gonna Bring Me Down
- Believe Me Its Real - Lean On Me - Contrast
Emotion (House Mix)
Up until now this was only being available via
the Internet. Expansion have come to its rescue
and have ensured that one of the most essential
sets so far in 2001 does not become an obscurity.
A timely release, then, and an exceptional one.
Readers of these reviews will be delighted to
know that Mr. Heathman is a
classy singer slightly in the mould of the late,
great Spencer Harrison - not
surprising as he is, too, a protégéé of Norman
Connors. Also, Nathan was Phyllis
Hyman's keyboard player and had worked
extensively on her latter work. If this is not a
résumé that demands attention, then I don't
know what is! Right Here Right Now is, I
have to say, PURE CLASS. Oozing sophistication
and sass, Nathan and guests have worked
incredibly hard to deliver a solid, quality set
that drifts effortlessly between soul and jazz.
For a start, Until We Meet Again opens
very Hyman-esc with Kevin Levi's
sax - a superb down-tempo number that will have
you wanting more. And more you will get! Accept
The Change showcases the smoother side to
Nathan's voice and I Can Feel It Will Get
Better steps up the tempo slightly with Patricia
Greene Gueory on lead vocals
(reminiscent of the new Cynthia Biggs
material). In addition, the superb Last Time
Trying about a one-sided love affair is
exceptional, reminding me of the classy Columbia
material circa 1984.
Best still is the CREAM track that will, I
guarantee, stop you dead in your tracks. Guess
I Really Didn't Know You At All features a
breathtaking vocal by Marjorie Hughes who
is a dead ringer for Phyllis Hyman.
The canniness, the inflections and nuances are
SCARY. This could be Phyllis in the studio, and
to top it all the spine tingling trademark
whistle is there too...courtesy of Jean
Carne.
No quibbling - this is an essential set.
Especially for THAT song.
The review by Barry Towler exclusively
for RECORD CORNER, which is one of the
leading soul shops in the world. The review is
not featured in our printed issue.
