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Donna Gardier - Home - CD35
Starting with the company press release followed by a review:-
Donna Gardier, one of the UK's most soulful voices, makes a welcome return to recording with her new solo album "Home".
Co-written and produced by Urban Species member Lennox Cameron, the album is her first solo outing since the early Nineties when she recorded the highly acclaimed "Reach Out" for Virgin with producers Tom Kane and Colin Baldry.
In the mid-Nineties she fronted UK band Raw Stylus, who recorded the classic singles "Pushing Against The Flow" and "Believe In Me", and toured extensively with them in Europe, the US and Japan.
Donna describes her style as "a strong gospel type of vocal" and her interest in gospel grew greatly following the break-up of Raw Stylus. In recent years she has sung with gospel choir Shekinah.
Her early musical influences are all strong-voiced US females - from the Jones Girls and Chaka Khan to Vesta Williams and Patti Labelle.
Of the brand new album, written and recorded in London over the past year, Donna says: "I enjoyed doing my first solo album, but the reason why I particularly like this new album is that it is true to me, coming from the heart, true to the person I am today. On my original solo record I didn't write any of the material, whereas on this album I have written all but one of the songs".
The exception is an intimate acoustic version of the Marvin Gaye favourite "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", produced by the Birmingham-based Full Flava team.
The songs on "Home" range from powerful up-tempo tracks like "Decisions", "I Am" and the title track to the softer "Real Thing" and the seductive neo soul of "Something Special" and "One And Only".
Donna, who has lived in London all her life, began singing in church at the age of five, but only broke into the music business by accident. "A friend of mine who was a professional singer had double-booked herself and asked me to cover for her," she recalls. She went to the session, for a band called Kid Can't Dance, and found herself asked to join the band, going on the road with them and singing on their album.
This was followed soon afterwards by the "Reach Out" solo album, which won her a lot of fans.
Her stint with Raw Stylus also began by complete chance. A friend was auditioning for the band and called Donna in the middle of the audition after telling the band 'I know who would be perfect for this'.
"I went along the next day and they chose me as the band's lead singer," says Donna. "The friend who recommended me became one of the backing singers."
The band was all about live work, touring almost non-stop, but when they started doing individual projects after the release of their album, it was only a matter of time before they split up permanently and Donna returned to a heavy schedule of session work.
When the opportunity came along to cut an album for Dome and resume her recording career as an artist in her own right, she jumped at the chance and immediately began working on material with Lennox.
"I feel that now is a good time for soul music generally and for soulful, personal songs - hopefully the public will like what I have to say".
DONNA GARDIER "HOME" Dome CD 35 Release Sept 30
Now the review:-
'Decisions' - uptempo track with complicated beat, uptempo not in a dance beat kind of way (but I expect the remixes will tell me otherwise!), sort of fast neo soul.
'You Don't know' is more like it for me, mellower and more soulful although I have another pre version which sounds much harder and more R'n'B although it's not credited as being a remix. Great soul track that could cross to the R'n'B market and I assume that this is going to be the first single. 'I am'- more pacy grooves, stronger bassline, well mixed vocal overdubs and excellent strong lyrics.
'Real Thing' taking it downbeat with principally just keyboard and vocal, drawing comparisons with the label mate Angela Johnson. Making a mark, making a start!
'Home' - top cut for me on the album, perhaps obviously so, but the groove and the strength of this means that this is the one that will take the 'Modern Soul' rooms apart. 'Amazing' is just a simple vocal interlude and I just don't get these kind of things!
'I got the strength'- the vocal sections and the instrumental beaty parts merge together effortlessly and when you're in one your waiting for the other to kick in! if that makes sense.
With 'The Prize' we move into a more downbeat and neo soul section of the album with it's strong percussion and beats, nice cut. 'Voices' with interesting lyrics and I wonder whether they are autobiographical. 'One and Only' good slow track with lyrics back to a love relationship theme. Firmly into neo territory with 'Something Special' before we move into something totally different.
This track I see is already receiving great critical acclaim. The well known Holland Dozier Holland 'How sweet it is (To be loved by you)' - such a great track and what could you add to it! Well take a listen, acoustic, haunting, strong yet gentle, you know it, but not like this.
A very good album indeed, constructively put together musically and vocally. Strong in lyrics and clean production and a satisfying variety of styles.