Reviewed by Steve Cox

  When record companies trawl the back catalogue of the latest singing phenomenon, one’s cynical antennae soon begin to twitch.  Could this be a real blessing or a terrible disappointment?  Should the company have bothered?  Well, this 1987 collection of tracks originally published under the artist’s own Metro One label is certainly highly interesting – if only because the 17 year old Ms Lewis sounds a bit like a constipated cat desperately in need of laxative relief.  A far cry from today’s mature, versatile instrument so brilliantly executed on more recent songs like “Lord I Believe In You”.  Still, it was good to hear Jon Gibson’s “Breakdown” sung with such youthful enthusiasm, and a half way decent opening track in “Frustrated”.  Sadly, the rest of the musical output blurs into homogenous mediocrity.  Unlike Ms Lewis’ voice which has definitely matured like a good wine in the ensuing 11 years since recording these youthful sounding tracks, I’m very happy to report.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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