Shirley Murdock - Let There Be Love! (1991)

Thin-voiced, girlish female singers with very limited ranges were quite popular in the urban contemporary world of the late 1980s and early 1990s, which also had its share of big-voiced divas who flew in the face of this trend, including Vesta Williams, Meli'sa Morgan, Regina Belle and Angela Winbush. Like them, Shirley Murdock was an emotional, passionate belter who believed in wailing and letting it rip. Let There Be Love! was produced by Roger Troutman, the funkster and George Clinton associate who was known for his extensive use of the vocoder with his band Zapp. But there are few hints of P-funk on this decent, ballad-oriented release. While Let There Be Love! isn't the soul extravaganza Murdock is quite capable of delivering, R&B/pop ballads and slow jams like "The Last Hurrah," "Say It, Mean It" and the Anita Baker-ish "Anywhere" aren't anything to be embarrassed by either. Meanwhile, Murdock increases the tempo with likable results on the house-influenced title song and the slightly jazzy "We Should Be Together." ~Let There Be Love! Review by Alex Henderson