Lisa Stansfield

For her return to American shores after a six-year absence, Lisa Stansfield packed her self-titled album with slower and more emotive material. Songs like "I'm Leavin'" feature Stansfield supported by her En Vogue-like background singers, while "The Line" is in the same vein, but with a faster tempo and a funkier reading by Stansfield. más...

But not all of LISA STANSFIELD is heartbreak and tear-stained letters. The Mancunian soul singer uses lush orchestration, wah-wah guitar and bright sounding piano on "The Real Thing" and later flirts with acid-jazz by incorporating flutes and an up-tempo beat into the heart of "You Know How To Love Me". Most interesting is a cover of her hero Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up". Staying true to the full arrangements of the original, Stansfield updates this classic by adding a lo-fi drum machine rhythm and a scratching turntable to her version.

Rolling Stone (8/7/97, p.64)
- 3 Stars (out of 5)
- "...belts her heart out in a voice that's smooth and pliant....Old-fashioned melodrama is where she's at."

Q (4/97, p.130)
- 3 Stars (out of 5)
- "...Stansfield's excellent singing remains on a par with the best American female R&B and the songs are consistently superior..."