Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

After hearing Cissy Houston wimp out on her last gospel album, I approached this with some trepidation! "Are You Ready" asks the first song on this comeback album from Tata Vega and the answer has to be a resounding YES! It's been a while since this diva graced us with new material which makes the release of 'Now I See' even more rewarding. A disco hit for Motown "I Just Keep Thinking About You Baby" filled floors in 1979 but she is probably best known as a guest vocalist for Andrae Crouch and the sessions for oodles of mainstream artists. Embracing a variety of styles, Tata's voice is amazing enough to win a deserved reputation and here she has the opportunity to stretch it across a variety of material. The pure heartfelt gospel of "Oh It Is Jesus" ( the original with Crouch was a stone classic), the plain adult ballad of "I'm Accepted" and the modern comfortable groove of the title cut all bring to the fore different aspects of her voice but overall she's somewhere between Aretha, Deniece Williams and Tina Turner! Standouts are the sassy sax filled opener "Are You Ready" with its '80s styled pumping synth undertones and the obvious crossover dancefloor appeal of "Brand New Dance" which I'm already imagining in its 12 inch remixed formats! Not to forget the groovy soulful performance of "Walk With Me". The only disappointment is that this album is probably too wide in its desire to hit the widest appeal. I just love it when she's smokin', pulling out all the stops on the more dancy soulful stuff. But then I can't have everything! It's just joy to hear her wrap her pipes around this stuff!

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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