Smokie Norful - I Need You Now

Wednesday 3rd July 2002
Smokie Norful - I Need You Now
Smokie Norful - I Need You Now

STYLE: Gospel
RATING 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 5347-5178
LABEL: EMI Gospel EGD20374
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1
RELEASE DATE: 2002-07-05
RRP: £12.99

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

R&B heads take note, tracks 1, 3 and 7 are the ones to play good an' loud, with phat bass, hip hop influenced grooves and Smokie's oily, soulful voice plucking every bit of soul power from his dazzling vocal armoury. These hot cuts put the album into the R&B category, though elsewhere he does the whole nine yards in black church style. Here, it's a bit too stylised to be truly convincing while some of the slow tunes Smokie has a tendency to overdo the pryotechnics so that melody lines get lost in vocal gymnastics. Also starting an acoustic ballad with a spoken recitation, "You know, I was looking at the position of the world the other day," is likely to bring howls of laughter from the more cynical. But nothing can eclipse the fact that the wondrously monickered Mr Norful has a voice every bit as good as any mainstream R&B star you could name. So if you're prepared to use the select button this is a debut you won't want to let pass you by.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Sample Track Listing:
1. Its All About You [Listen]
2. I Need You Now [Listen]
3. Life's Not Promised [Listen]
4. Still Say Thank You [Listen]

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.

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