Rating: 3.5/5
After a 10 year hiatus from the music industry, one of the best soul singers to come out of the UK returns with her new album Born Again.
Mica Paris is probably best known for her hit 1988 hit song ‘My One Temptation’, however subsequent releases failed to have the same impact. Although she continued to release new material regularly she never really got the mainstream recognition she deserved. However all that may change on this release.
Born Again kicks off with the James Morrison penned, Motown-tinged first single ‘Baby Come Back Now’. A great choice as a first single, the up-beat track taps into the ever-popular retro-soul movement.
Title track, ‘Born Again’ is a string-laden ballad, placed early-on to showcase Mica’s vocals. Lyrically it’s a bit bland, and covers well-trodden ground however the sentiment of the song, and Mica’s vocals just about pull it through.
A few tracks on the album hint at the retro-sound heard on the album opener, including the Eric Benet penned ‘You’re The Only One’, and album highlight ‘The Hardest Thing’. I know that the retro sound has been done to death over the last couple of years but Mica’s voice really suits it.
Other tracks of note include a cover of Keiysha Cole’s ‘I Remember’, the uptempo, club-friendly ‘Tonight’, and ‘Stay’.
In my opinion the two real standouts come at the very end of the album. First we have a stripped-back version of her biggest hit ‘My One Temptation’. This was never one of my favourites (in comparison to ‘So Good’ and ‘You Can Make A Wish’) but this version has had me hitting repeat over and over.
Finally we are given a live version of the Gershwin classic ‘Summertime’. This track does not fit into the overall sound or feel of the album, but I’m so glad it was included. The jazzy soulfulness that Mica exudes on this track shows why she is seen my many as the Queen of UK soul.
Release Date: 01 June 2009
Website: www.micaparis.com
Reply