EXPANSION RECORDS

Peggi Blu - Livin on love - EXCDP34

Released on 9 September

We hope to do a feature on Peggi shortly so I'll not concentrate on the past simply on this album that she has completed for Expansion.

The album is solid throughout, and there are some standout tracks. Opening with 'I can't wait', one such standout track, with more instant in appeal than most. This album generally is taking a few plays to sink in but sinking in it most definitely is.

All tracks are soulful in the extreme and the production allows the voice to be strong and featured throughout, for example, on 'Uh oh', a mellow tempo but building strongly with a nice jazz guitar feature. Nice track. 'I never loved a man before' is a nice enough track but I get slightly put off because it reminds me in places of Tina Turner.

'Can't go back' gets us back on track with a slab of grooving midtempo modern soul. One of those tracks where a strong beat does not get in the way of strong vocals. 'Long after midnight' is a late night slow jam.

'Secret garden' is another of the stronger cuts in my view, again a nice groove and a huskier vocal, again a nice jazzy piano break. The well-known classic and standard is featured here, 'Go away little boy', nicely and professionally put together with a proper band, I'm afraid doesn't really do it for me.

But we don't hold on to that small disappointment for long, 'Crazy for you' is a sultry slow song with a power pack vocal over the beats and chorus. 'Where is your love' starts with an almost spoken vocal but builds over the beat and builds with the backing, almost showtime, arrangements. 'Never let me go' is another slow to mellow track.

'Livin on love' joins the number one tracks, a heartfelt and deeply soulful ballad. 'When I call you mine', another top cut, concludes the album in fine style with n almost Philly feel. Not quite Philly strings on here but you can kinda feel them coming on!

An excellent album that it already picking up critical acclaim, well produced and put together by Ted Perlman, and including three of four top quality tracks, (but the others do not fall below good!)