42 up 1998

A big collection of the best dance hits of the 90th, the most soulful and pleasant to the ear. DJ Bobo, Backstreet Boys, Cher, Robbie Williams, Tarkan, Janet Jackson, Falco, Modern Talking, Ace Of Base and more…

The daughter of the late bluesman Johnny Copeland steps up to the plate with this, her debut album for the Alligator imprint. Although only 19 at the time of this recording, Copeland comes to this album with a mature style and vast amounts of assuredness. While comparisons to Koko Taylor and Etta James will be plentiful, Shemekia has enough tricks up her sleeve to make this a disc well worth checking out. Eight of the 14 tunes aboard are co-written by producer John Hahn and strong musical support is summoned up from guitarist Jimmy Vivino, with guest turns from Joe Louis Walker and "Monster" Mike Welch, while the Uptown Horns show up on three tunes, including the title track. Highlights are numerous on this disc, but special attention should be paid to Copeland's "Ghetto Child," a nice cover of Don Covay's "Have Mercy"; Walker's "Your Mama's Talking"; and the strutting "I Always Get My Man." This is one very impressive debut.

Yet another stellar entry in the Fragile catalog. These records are all so good, it's really impressive. I see the fusion discs rated highly on here that came out at the same time, and they're no competition at all for what these guys bring. Origin has to be my favorite here, although L.C.M. is right there. These early discs have guitarist Koichi Yabori's judicious use of guitar synth to flesh out their trio sound as needed, and it works. A big plus for them, is all 3 guys contribute to the writing. Makes for a more varied sound, and lessens the chance they'll write themselves dry. Do get one of these records, if you have any affection for fusion at all.