Fabled one-hit wonder and Canadian songstress Alannah Myles is back with 'Black Velvet' - new material headed with an electronic reworking of her finest hour.
Alannah says she'd always wanted to title an album 'Black Velvet', after the success of the track; because roughly translated, that’s pretty much all the average music fan associates her with.
This rework gives the listener the impression that maybe Alannah has just been unplugged from The Matrix and wants to give the track that fast, electro style; but it’s not a welcome reprisal.
What cannot be denied is that Myles' voice is just as strong, poignant and definitive as it ever was. And sadly the only thing letting the song down is the production from fellow Canadian Mike Borkosky.
But you can’t keep a good songbird down and there are some successes on this collection. Second track 'Comment Ca Va' is a funky, sassy romp of a tune. There’s just something sexy about singing in French, and combining that with the sort of digitally intrepid beat that this one features takes it above comparisons of, perhaps, a poor man's 'Lady Marmalade'.
Just as third track, 'Prime of my Life' might draw comparisons with a certain other sultry Canadian singer’s work, its construed lyrics and big-band beat just about take it free of all parallels of Ms. Twain.
Then come efforts like 'Only Wings' where Myles goes for uncharacteristic high, ballad vocals, laced over progressive strings which makes it instantly forgettable. 'Leave it Alone' continues this theme, and whilst working better with Myles’ dreamy vocals, the electronic underpinning is about as welcome as the bike bell that sounds at the start of 'What is Love' - which, to be fair, does redeem itself thanks to Myles' stunning voice.
'Faces in the Crowd' is another bizarrely sombre effort which details Alannah's trips across the Channel. And although she doesn’t say whether Sea France or P&O was her vessel of choice, she might as well have done considering it was such a bland and unrewarding listen.
This album is not without highlights but sadly it's the low-lights that are more likely to stay with you, spearheaded by the criminal rearrangement of the classic 'Black Velvet'. Myles undoubtedly has a lot to offer to the industry, with more talent in her little finger than most talent show wannabes, but she desperately needs a new producer to exploit this.
Rating: 2.5/5