"IT'S NEW TO ME" WEEK (OCTOBER 20-26, 2013)
Note: the CD I listened to was the 2004 UK reissue.
Prior to purchasing this 2-fer disc, I was only familiar with Riperton through her presence on various compilation and soundtrack discs and her 1975 #1 hit, Lovin' You. I've only had this CD for a few weeks, but I've listened to it almost every day since its purchase. Tooting my own horn, this was a smart (if not overdue) purchase. I doubt I would have bought these albums at the time of release, but I sure wish I would have come across them in the '80s around the same time I was discovering early '70s Stevie Wonder or, at the very least, when all the acid jazz groups of the '90s were copping Riperton's sound.
Is it soul? R&B? Soft rock? Let's take the easy way out and just call it a beautifully simple combination of all three. Riperton's impressive vocal range would be enough to make her a star, but I'm also impressed by the varied songwriting here. Not a bad crew of backing musicians here, either: Stevie Wonder, Michael Sembello, Deniece Williams, Larry Carlton, Joe Sample, and Tom Scott.
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: Perfect Angel #4, Adventures in Paradise #18
- Billboard R&B: Perfect Angel #1 (3 weeks), Adventures in Paradise #5
Tracks: The Perfect Angel album is better than its follow-up, but it's a very close race. There's not a bad track on the Perfect Angel album (tracks 1-9); my favorites are Reasons, Take A Little Trip, Perfect Angel, and, of course, Lovin' You. Tracks 10-19 make up 1975's Adventures In Paradise. Top tracks on the latter album include Baby This Love I Have, Love And It's Glory, and Inside My Love.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
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