Earlier this year, VANESSA WILLIAMS announced she was making a musical comeback. She set up her own recording label, hooked up with some industry big hitters (like Steven C. Beer, who’s worked with Lady Gaga and Britney Spears) and got stuck in . The first new music was an energized pop/soul/dance single, ‘Legs (Keep Dancing). The release came with the promise of a full album. Well, said album, ‘Survivor’ has just been released via Mellian Music / Mod Squad, LLC!
The album’s a 14 track affair and it offers a real varied menu of sounds and flavours – reflecting Ms W’s rich and diverse musical catalogue. She says: “’Survivor’ is an eclectic collection of songs that embraces my musical past and brings that history into the present and the future. It absolutely represents me musically and has something to say. I wanted to remind my loyal fans that I’m still here, don’t count me out and to bring my music to a whole new generation that might know be better for my stage and television roles. Playing with all of the different styles of music I’ve loved to perform over the years is just who I am as an artist, which I really attribute to my parents, who were music teachers. I listened to everything growing up and that has always inspired my diverse musical tastes.”
So, yes, except all kinds of everything. Sadly, there’s not a lot here that will appeal to proper soul lovers but dramatic ballads like ‘Being Good Isn’t Good Enough’ show what a soulful voice Ms W possesses. ‘I See U’ is a mix of R&B and Caribbean flavours while ‘BOP!’ is a frantic R&B jam. There’s electro vibes a-plenty, jazz offerings (like ‘Zaz Zuh Zaz’) but the album highlights are the Latin-flavoured cuts – like the lovely, lithe ‘La Costa’.
