Customer Reviews

If I Were Your Woman

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Stephanie Mills, "the little gal with the big voice" has been a pro since she first took the stage as a child as Dorothy in "The Wiz". Most of her early albums were recorded with the (then) team of James Mtume & Reggie Lucas, and they outfitted Ms Mills with glittering, rich product to wrap her considerable voice around. Though when Mtume and Lucas parted ways, Mills likely found herself in a similar place as Dionne Warwick after the break-up of David-Bacharach, a major talent looking for some serious songs to sing!

The following records were noteworthy, to say the least, but not as consistent as what we had grown to expect from the artist. Jumping from "this" label to "that" didn't help either, and though the she always rose to the occasion with the material given her, Stephanie Mills was in need of a big hit.

"IF I Were Your Woman" is a nice album - a feel-good record with some highly emotive singing, Mills'! ! strong-point. But as reliable as her committed vocal delivery has been, this album only comes close to sky-rocketing Mills to the celebrity stratosphere of where she so much deserves to be.

"(You're Puttin' A) Rush On Me" and "Running For Your Love" deliver healthy portions of uptempo funk to get the party started, and tender moments like "Jesse" and the minor hit "Secret Lady" set the mood for love, which Mills still does better than several other "so-called divas" of today. However, it is on the seductive "Touch Me Now" where the emotions all come together . . . surely one of the better vocals from a lady with a career full of above-average renderings!

"If I Were Your Woman" is a fine re-make of the Gladys Knight & the Pips chestnut and "I Feel Good All Over" expresses in a phrase the overall feel to the album, and too sums up Mills' earthy singing style.

This album reminds us how ! ! underrated Stephanie Mills as a substantial pop music force! of latter day.

Stephanie Mills is a singer's singer. I had the pleasure of seeing her in person when she was promoting this album. At the time I knew little about her other than the raves she got appearing in The Wiz on Broadway. I was unprepared. The first thing I noticed was that she is absolutely adorable. Even with hair piled high enough to rival Chaka Khan, Chaka Khan, it's unlikely that she breaks the five-foot barrier. But as soon as she started singing, she roared, she owned the room.

Mills is a triple-threat, she has a glorious natural voice, she is a highly trained singer, and she invests her delivery with passion, soul, and originality. So many bad singers, especially rock singers, reach up for notes like desperate mountain climbers inching their way along ice caps. Mills hits her notes with authority, she spanks them. Her high notes remain nailed to the wall long after she's left the building. Not only does she have a splendid range, she growls, purrs, coaxes, and teases, there's a whole vocabulary of coy and alluring expression in her delivery.

Mills is good enough to compensate for this CD's limitations which include lapses in song-writing quality and occasionally ham-fisted production. Secret Lady is a gem, as are Jesse, Touch Me Now, I Feel Good All Over, and the remake of If I Were Your Woman. The remaining three, Rush On Me, Running For Your Love, and Can't Change My Ways are good, but the writing is uneven and the production is self-conscious, foreshadowing the "producer-as-instrument" trend of years to come. Still in all, these are minor complaints; this CD is definitely worth owning. With Aretha busy at the buffet table, Mills could well be at the very head of the class.

If romantic love songs is what you like and you don't have this cd-you don't know what you're missing. First of all, Stephanie Mills has one of the most amazing voices in music history-often underated but never duplicated- she growls,she can run the music scale effortlessly with deep rich vocals as showcased on the churchy but romantic "I feel good all over" a definite pleaser to the ear. Stephanie does an amazing job on the remake title track "If I were your woman" very soulful. "Puttin a rush on me" features blazing big beats with rhythmatic and hypnotic vocals over a sizzling production. "Jesse" is a smooth melodic track that will have you singing along with slick production and background by Robert Brookins. Powerhouse performances are showcased on "Secret Lady" and "Touch me now"...Awesome Cd...in other words..Get it Now!

The above line, majestically sung by the background vocalists, is featured in Mills' awesome "I Feel Good All Over" and that song is just one of the outstanding tracks on the singer's 1987 release. Her gospel and Broadway roots come to light in the title cut, a rousing remake of the Gladys Knight classic, the mid-tempo "(You're Puttin') A Rush on Me, the touching "Jesse," and the passionate "Touch Me Now." She really pours all her soul into the revealing "Secret Lady," a scorcher about an illicit relationship.

Even the slightly dated "Running for Your Love" can put some contemporary songs to shame, because of its balance between vocal performance and band accompaniment, something sorely lost in today's computer-enhanced studio mixings.

Listening to current chart-topper Fantasia makes one think that the younger could be a not-so-distant relative of Mills for both possess similar voices and styling.

What a powerhouse pairing it would be if the two got together!!!

To me, this is when Stephanie really started to find her place in music.MCA Records really put her voice to good use. She has always had the voice and the talent. It just needed its perfect place.On this cd however, the popular songs such as "I feel good all over", and "You're puttin a rush on me"and not my favorites. i am in love with the songs, " Touch me now", and "Jesse". But the whole cd is off the hook. i love it. I wish they would have added a few more songs to it, but that was then.this cd is a must have.

Thank You,

This was a very hard CD to find, it,s one of my all time fav,s by Stephaine, Jesse is a great song. Thanks Amazon

If you only own a compilation or greatest hits collection from Stephanie, do your self a big favor and but this CD!

This album is truly the brass ring in her career. After her run in The Wiz, and a few pop focused albums and hits (Never Knew Love Like This before), Stephanie focused on R & B, and it was a natural fit.
The title track, done as a tribute to one of her mentors, Gladys Knight starts the sizzle off, and A Rush On Me, along with Can't Change My Ways keep it burning. There is truly not a bad track on this release!

Her ballads here take the flame to a slow, but never the less hot burn. A standout track is the joyous, gospel ladden, I Feel Good All Over. Who wound not want to be out on the floor slow dancing to this one.

Stephanie has long deserved far more aclaim that she has received, but it's never too late to discover this amazing talent, and embrace this CD.

Ken

Stephanie Mills' If I Were Your Woman was such a solid album, one of her best during the '80s. The album version of I Feel Good All Over is still unbelievable, as if Stephanie wrote the song herself. The other numbers like You're Puttin A Rush on Me, Secret Lady, Jesse, and the soulful If I Were Your Woman are also dynamite. Stephanie has me in tears every time I hear that fabulous remake of that Gladys Knight and the Pips classic. She sings from the heart on that one. Nick Martinelli should be commended for producing some songs here, as he was a major hitmaker in '86 and '87. A fabulous effort from Stephanie!