London's prodigal son returns with what most think is his best work yet with 'Best by Far ', a tribute to the man's vast musical genius as an artist, songwriter, producer and performer. You get the distinct impression that this set shows a passionate drive in what he wants his music to bring to the world and bring it he does

First up is  'I guess ' a bouncy, in fashion dance number that bares a slight resemblance to 'Music' then we have 'Something real ' and 'Essential ' that follows suit in the same vain. Next is the brilliant remake of William DeVaughn's 'Be thankful for what you've got ' featuring the lovely vocals of Erykah Badu - one word description: Excellent. The title track 'Best by Far ' gives you a jazzy vibe feel with an almost  2 minute long intro - great stuff. The track that I think is the sleeper of the lot is 'Come on ' featuring Kele La Roc - a great record with great production and Kelle's pipes on it to me it's a no brainer.

Other notables include 'To the top ', 'Goodness ', 'Syleste ' and 'Tell me '. The title suggests that it's his best work yet which might be true in this case but here's hoping that it's not 'cos Omar's body of work is the BEST BY FAR.

TD

Gladys Knight

Gladys returns to the limelight with a pretty ballad taken from her forthcoming album 'At last ' which is due out this spring.

Much in the same vain as 'I don't want to know ' (which was written and produced by Babyface) from the 'Just for you ' album (94), this time around the writers/producers are James 'D.C.' Wilson and Gary Brown (remember him?) who have done an excellent job on the production side of things. Gladys's voice is in fine tune and carries the track effortlessly from the get go.

Look out for the full length it's due out this spring on MCA Records at fine record shops across the board.

TD

 

 

The girls known as Sunday keeps it all in the family as the five young ladies, consisting of three sisters  Tawanda (who is the oldest), Notasha (the middle born) and Tiffany (the youngest sister), and their two cousins, Shakira (youngest in the group) and Stacey and they want to let you 'know' just who they are.

Discovered by Whitney Houston's long time associate and friend Robyn Crawford, Sunday came to be through their family church and local school and Robyn caught their act at a local talent showcase in their native New Jersey.

'I Know ', the debut single typifies the kind of infectious groove-flavored tracks that can be found on the album. "It's like a short story about a girl trying to steal someone's boyfriend and she's just not woman enough to take him away! It's just not going to work no matter what she tries" explains Tiffany. The single is released on Capitol Records through Better Place Records and was was co-written by Notasha and Tiffany with Harold Lily, Jr. The self titled album will be out in February. Give it a listen, who knows you might be surprised.

TD