Though Lisa Stansfield’s been around since the 80s, I was surprised to learn that this latest long player, ‘Deeper’ is only her eighth studio album. Clearly Rochdale’s finest prides herself on quality over quantity; for sure, you see ‘Deeper’ is stuffed with quality Brit soul and classy pop and will sit perfectly in Ms S’s small but perfectly formed canon.
Astute followers will know by now that ‘Deeper’ has been heralded by two singles. Back in January we enjoyed the tight, electro groove that was ‘Everything’ and more recently there was the radio friendly ‘Billionaire’. Wisely, Lisa and her people had ‘Billionaire’ remixed by modern soul don, Rob Hardt (of Cool Million/Sed Soul) and the result was a gorgeous modern soul groove that proved (again) that Lisa is still at the top of her soul game. The great news for the soul crew is that this album offers plenty more soul treasures – none finer than the title cut. ‘Deeper’ (the track) is one hell of a tune! It rides in on a bass line that reminds me of Maxwell’s ‘Ascension Don’t Ever Wonder’ and develops into four minutes worth of modern soul perfection topped with a fab sax break from Mick Donnelly. This is the single-in-waiting. The faster ‘Never Ever’ is another soul winner – zipping along with confidence and panache. The big soul ballad is ‘Coming Up For Air’ but the set’s best slow moment comes via the heart-rending ‘Hole In My Heart’. You can guess from the title where this one is coming from.
Elsewhere, ‘Twisted’ is an enjoyable oddity. After a slow start it builds into something that kind of embraces Latino rhythms (hear those castanets!) alongside Northern soul flavours. There’s another nod to Lisa’s roots on ‘Desire’. This is a boomy, bassy dancer that recalls the great days of Cold Cut and Blue Zone while I’m guessing that the cover of Family Stand’s 1990 ‘Ghetto Heaven’ is Stansfield’s homage to her past and/or influences. Quite different is the funky ‘Butterflies’; for sure, it’s not JB style funk but it is tough and tight with an authentic horn arrangement from veteran Jerry Hey and a crazy sax solo from Athol Ransome. Counter that with the electro trickery of ‘Just Can’t Help Myself’ and factor in the tunes we’ve described and you can see that Lisa has delivered one of her most varied albums to date. Varied and, yes, stuffed with quality – not quantity.
LISA STANSFIELD; ‘Deeper’ is released on earMUSIC on April 6th
(BB) 4/5
