N'Dea Davenport - N'Dea Davenport (1998)

N'dea Davenport started working on her debut solo recording in 1990; she finished eight years later. In between she spent six years traveling the world with British funk revivalists the Brand New Heavies. After four albums on which she sang lead, wrote songs, and produced, she took a hiatus to buy and restore a house in Louisiana, then resumed the solo project. N'dea Davenport was recorded in San Francisco, Atlanta, Nashville, and Los Angeles. It sounds less like a clever pastiche of an artist suffering from wanderlust than the travelogue of a woman who is fluent in many different languages. Her native tongue remains the saucy, '70s-inspired funk she honed with her former bandmates, and the sultry vibe of "Bring It On" and "Whatever You Want" pushes that sound forward. Elsewhere she's mixing it up with the Crescent City's Rebirth Brass Band on "Getaway," reviving the Southern torch tradition on "Save Your Love for Me," showing off her jazz chops on "In Wonder," and infusing Neil Young's "Old Man" with a heady dose of soul. Her lyrics range from social criticism to tender love themes, and her enthusiasm lifts every track. Her long-awaited debut makes an eloquent argument for broadening the narrow confines of contemporary R&B. -- Martin Johnson ~