BETTIN' ON YOU - PATTI STERLING
"Coming up in the next review we have the discussion of whether white girls . . . can be soul singers. Here we have some product by a lady whose photos and vocals raise a question mark over skin colour. Should we be bothered? Of course not. Does our opinion of the vocals hinge on what we perceive as her racial origins? It shouldn't, but it probably does. Anyway, there's [a] stunning track here.

. . . Wham! Right between the eyes, we take a direct hit! Rue Davis comes into the studio for a reworking of Z.Z. Hill's hit, Love Is So Good When You're Stealing It . . . and, wow, does he bring out the best in the lady

. . .oh, yes, she's certainly a Soul Singer. . .

[The] sultry Surrender hits the spot and the ballad, I Belong To You brings to mind the sort of stuff that the likes of Desiree Coleman or Janice McClain were doing in the late eighties. There's a slight swamp sound to much of Patti's self penned Room At The End Of The Hall . . . The lady [gets] to demonstrate her versatility by way of East Of Midnight. Written by Patrick Hazell, it's a smouldering jazzy item on which Art Munson's acoustic guitar is the icing on the cake. . ."

David Cole - IN THE BASEMENT

Issue # 33 February- April 2004