- 13
- Tracks
- 51 min
- Runtime
Not yet rated — be the first
Not yet rated — be the first
13 tracks · 51 min
Despite possessing perhaps the U.K.'s most authentic soulful voice, Wolverhampton's finest, Beverley Knight, has often struggled to find material as strong to accompany it. Since 2002's Mercury Music Prize-nominated Who I Am, she's flirted with genre-hopping pop on the commercial but unfocused Affirmation, and old-school Nashville R&B on the mediocre pastiche of Music City Soul, but both have failed to live up to her reputation as the Queen of British Soul. With contributions from Janet Jackson's long-term collaborators Jam & Lewis, legendary soul diva Chaka Khan, and Kevin Bacon, bassist in new wave outfit the Comsat Angels, Knight's sixth studio album, 100% appears to have jumped on the ubiquitous '80s revival bandwagon. But unlike the electro-pop of La Roux and Little Boots, her first release since leaving Parlophone to set up her own label, Hurricane Records, instead echoes the classy soul balladry of Anita Baker ("Bare"), the synth-heavy funk of Alexander O'Neal ("Breakout"), and the acid-jazz leanings of early Brand New Heavies ("Turned to Stone"). It's a change in direction which, unlike her recent output, feels like a natural progression, its authentic groove-fueled product…