Any self-respecting R&B diva has a voice that can knock you on your can, but how many can also tell you an actual story while they blast? Session singer extraordinaire Kelly Price (she's backed Aretha, Mariah, Puffy, and others, and was the voice on the Notorious B.I.G.ΓÇÖs "Mo Money, Mo Problems") can, and does, on her second album. The difference is in the details that drive bittersweet tunes like "You Should've Told Me" and, appropriately enough, "At Least (Little Things)." Nakedly honest enough to include her size as a possible reason a relationship went wrong, and using a few words to sketch out an image of isolation--"flippin' through channels" in a "lonely house/sittin' high up on a hill"--Price summons the stick-in-your-mind lines of classic soul.
Of course, it also doesn't hurt that sheΓÇÖs better with a melody than many of her old employers, offering several sweet and sweeping ballads--like the superb title track--that hint at her gospel roots. And she wisely saves her vocal virtuosity for dramatic effect, employing it at opportune times like a mock his-and-hers battle with R. Kelly that has the brass to reference the national anthem and works beautifully.
Like just about every album released in the CD era, it's too long by at least four songs, and the more up-tempo stuff sounds kind of like an afterthought--although the bouncy, bass-heavy "Good Love" is a notable exception. But it's the presence of a diva with depth that makes this one worth your attention.
All recordings courtesy of Island/Def Soul. "Mirror Mirror" written by K. Price; courtesy of Universal Music Corp./Big Beautiful One Music (ASCAP). "As We Lay" written by L. Troutman, B. Beck; courtesy of Saja Music/Songs of Lastrada, on behalf of itself and Sony/ATV Songs LLC (BMI). "Love Sets You Free" written by D. Rich, K. Price, C. Thompson, A. Phillips, T. Riley; courtesy of EMI April Music, Inc./Philmore Music/Big Beautiful One Music/Sony/ATV Songs LLC/Ninth Street Tunnel Music (BMI).
