Customer Reviews

Distant Lover

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The girl is STILL on point with this new release! Every, and I mean EVERY track is very well done. From the initial nuance of Bill Wither's "USE ME" to the final fade out of The Spinners "COULD IT BE I'M FALLING IN LOVE", I became hooked!! Vesta does make each song her own! Shout out to all the DJ's on the R & B stations, play track # 4 (Sly Stone's "If You Want Me To Stay")during your daily rotation and watch your phones ring off the hook with listeners calling wanting to get their hands on this CD! I'll admit that track # 5 ("With You I'm Born Again") took me back to a wonderful period in my life causing me to briefly shed some happy tears! Miss Vesta, you have really pleased me with this project! It should bring you much deserved success once everyone gets an earful! Sing the songs, girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say that I don't know a lot about Vesta. Granted, I was all of 12 years old when "Congratulations" hit the airwaves. I was listening to Run DMC, Big Daddy Kane, and Dj Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince in 1988! Nevertheless, I remember seeing Vesta on Arsenio Hall and later hearing the song on the radio. As I reflect back, I think that this was one of the first songs to influence me into listening to more R&B songs. That may be a stretch, but I remember being captivated by her vocal range. Usually, when you hear a singer try to hit high notes (like in church), it doesn't always come out so crisp. As I got older, I appreciated singers like Rachelle Ferrell, Chante Moore, and others who could hit those notes and grab your attention just by the sound of their voice. Well Vesta does the same on her latest release Distant Lover, a collection of R&B songs that aren't exactly the easiest to sing. We've all heard some questionable covers before now, but Vesta takes every song on this cd and makes it her own. The range on the the title track by Marvin Gaye alone will have you raising your eyebrows at how well she serenades the lyrics and invokes her own flavor to the song. Other standout tracks include her takes on the Bill Wither's jam "Use Me," her impressive perfection of "Free" by Deniece Williams, and her seductive, womanly touch to Babyface's "Whip Appeal" leaves you in a good mood afterwards. She brings new life to songs by Sade ("No Ordinary Love"), The Spinners ("Could It Be I'm Falling In Love") and Sly And The Family Stone ("If You Want Me To Stay.") Vesta certainly has the chops to release new material if she wants to. But like a lot of re-emerging artists, putting out a cover album like Distant Lover does its job of wetting the appetite before serving up an album of wholesome R&B goodness.

I have always appreciated the uniqueness of Vesta though she suffered terribly in the beginning because of obvious and unavoidable comparisons to Chaka. Slowly but surely she carved out her own niche and showed us there is indeed room for two similar female vocalists whose range in many instances simply defies boundaries. Vesta is now among sought-after upper echelon session musicians having worked with the likes of such heavyweights as George Duke.

I first listened to this on a beat-up work radio and was not all that impressed. Then while downloading music at home ran across it again and I was NOT well!!!

Vesta is indeed bringing it with this set. She displays the vocal acrobatics she has become known for and delivers some excellent performances on tried and true R&B classics. Interestingly enough, when initially reading the list of selections, they appear rather lackluster.

But just put this bad boy on!!!!

I highly recommend as a viable cover project with a freshness and vitality that is not necessarily easy to do with the selections here. Standout cuts include "Use Me" (yep, THAT one), "If You Want Me To Stay", "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love", "Whip Appeal", "Free", "Distant Lover" - gee - the whole project IS that good.

Highly recommend!!!!

Vesta - where have you been hiding? We missed you! Die hard Vesta fans such as myself have been waiting patiently for many years for new material. I am happy to report this CD was worth the wait, but I must admit I do love the "Jazz" side of Vesta and I hope she continues to make guests appearances on recordings of the many smooth jazz artists that love & adore her.

Distant Lover is well produced and most of the arrangements hit the mark. Vesta is in fine voice, yet we do not get to hear the upper register that often nor the infamous wailing that is present on the albums from the 90's. Nevertheless, Vesta shines on this CD and you will be very happy with this purchase.

A couple of songs are good; a couple are just alright; and a couple missed the mark completely for me.

First of all, I'd like to thank Shanachie Records for giving Vesta a chance to record again, but they need to STOP releasing these lame overpriced 10 track CDs (an EP for that matter!) of remakes. And the production value/quality on these EPs are sorely LACKING in many cases. The whole 'Remake Classic Song' concept has been worn out, and most people will agree that these CDs shouldn't cost more than $9.99! (Glad I got a cheap used copy! LOL)

Now, as for Vesta, she has been M.I.A. since her 'Relationships' dropped in 1998, so my expectations for the new 'Distant Lover' were VERY HIGH. Well, I've listened to this CD a few times, and I'm happy to say this 10 track CD is a great addition to Vesta's discography. Personally, I enjoyed the previous 'Relationships', and while Vesta was restrained on that CD, she DID give us a taste of her mighty vocals from time to time. On 'Distant Lover', Vesta sounds very good, BUT she takes the restraint to an even greater level, and doesn't EAT THE SONGS UP like we know she can. Vesta is no joke, and her renditions of these classics are quite pleasant (for the most part!). 'Use Me' was a great way to start the CD. 'Whip Appeal' from a woman's standpoint...very cleaver! Same goes for the title track, and Vesta's vocals gave 'If You Want Me To Stay' new life. 'With You I'm Born Again' is not a favorite of mine. That song was ruined by Chante Moore & Kenny Lattimore a few years ago. Vesta sounds good (but she doesn't have the late Syreeta's effortless Soprano that weaved in & out of the original track!), and her duet partner (??) is trying to sound like Billy Preston, and he is a damn bore. 'Knocks Me Off My Feet' was pretty good, but Vesta didn't LIGHT THE SONG UP (as she did with Stevie's 'You & I' from 'Relationships'). Sade's 'No Ordinary Love' was also Vestified, and with good results! Deniece William's 'Free' is questionable IMO (the music sounds like it came from a cheap Casio keyboard!). Vesta can BLOW, BUT Niecy's tender & floating operatic soprano are not in her vocal arsenal. Vesta sounds like she was trying to imitate Niecy's appraoch to the classic song, and you have to wonder (Hmmm...). 'Ooh Baby Baby' was a pleasant suprise, and 'Could It Be I'm Falling In Love' ends this EP (oops CD!) on a high note of sorts.

In closing, I hope that Vesta can join a major record label ASAP, and record a full length CD with BETTER musicians & producers, as opposed to the sub standard people at Shanachie. Vesta sounds very good, but I don't know about some of the songs she chose to re-make. Vesta, I love ya, but let's get some original stuff out next time (and not in another 10 years!).
Peace, SD
(Chakasworld)

The title says it all. I've always appreciated Vesta's vocal capabilitiesand how she's always been able to wrap herself any musical composition. She's proven why she has been able to maintain the longevity as an artist as she have. Now its time for her to start touring again! This is it Vesta!

I had the pleasure of purchasing Vesta-Distant Lover CD. I really enjoyed every selection. And I fell in love with her music. The cover of the CD was beautiful. She is a lovely lady.

What a wonderful CD!! I forgot what a beautiful and powerful voice Vesta has. I can not wait for her to release a new CD!!!

It's just wonderful to have Vesta bring us some new music--and an inspired covers' album at that!!! Her remakes of "Whip Appeal", "Knocks Me Off My Feet" and "Distant Lover" are all fresh and exciting and it's all too obvious that Vesta still has a lot to offer. Sadly, both the production and overall musicianship/orchestration are lacklustre and merely acceptable at best (a recurring problem on most recent Shanachie R&B releases) but Vesta is an artist with whom it's quite difficult to make a bad album--as such, the pluses far outweigh the minuses. Not perfect but one of 2007's best R&B CDs thus far...