Customer Reviews

Sunshine at Midnight

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

 

 

I remember when Sunshine Anderson first came out way back. It was about six years ago. She came into the industry as Macy Gray's protege, who at the time was at the height of her success. She released "Heard It All Before" and a very nice debut, but for some reson it went unnoticed.

So now that it's six years later, I was surprised when I saw her video on my favorite music blog. I couldn't believe it. I was reluctant to buy this. First, because it is on Beyonce's dad's Music World Music label, which really never releasing anything of quality except for his daughter's work. Secondly, the cover looks quite generic, leading me to believe that this album would be low budget and lame. I saw it at the music store and decided to give it a try because I needed something new to listen to. (Plus, it has a song produced by Raphael Saadiq, so there's gotta be at least one good song.)

"Something I Wanna Give You," the first single, is like "Heard It All Before" part two. It is a nice cut, though. On "Trust," Sunshine feels betrayed that her friend snitched on her. She also realizes that her "Whole Life" is gone because of her man... and now he's being unfaithful! The subject matter for the first half of the album is quite contrary to her first name, and these songs are where she is at her best. For the second half of the album, she mainly sticks to mid-tempos, which are alright. The Raphael Saadiq produced "Wear The Crown" is a nice one.

The production is good, and her voice is better than ever... but the lyrics. Most of the time, they do not help or hurt her. But on "Force of Nature," Anderson confesses to her strange infatuation. "Excuse me, y'all, but I love his dirty drawers." (Is that supposed to be sexy?!)

Overall, this is a nice, enjoyable album that's a little above average. I would recommend buying it if you're thinking about it. Maybe buy it used, too. But it's nothing to rush to the stores for.

(By the way, the album has 12 tracks, not only 10 like Amazon says.)

This will not make it to my "favorites" category. But Sunshine is a powerhouse of a voice. She needs a better writer (and promoter by the way) behind her, beside her, to work with her. I suggest R. Kelly (as a writer) right off the bat. This just wasn't a great body of work to me.

Sunshine Anderson came out of nowhere back in 2001 and hit it big with "Heard It All Before". Despite that, it seemed that no one picked up her album Your Woman except my brother and me, and we found that the album had a whole bunch of other good selections. After that it seemed like she dropped off the face of the Earth, but what really happened was that her label (Soulife) folded, and apparently other record companies didn't know what to do with her because her voice was so different (the same thing happened to Anthony Hamilton, as he was also on that label). But Sunshine finally got picked up by Music World and released her sophomore album, Sunshine At Midnight.

Now, Sunshine ain't no Aretha when she sings, but the reason why I can't rate this album higher than three-and-a-half stars is, well, this is another case of what happens when there is too long a break between album releases: it seems as though the artist maybe forgot how to make high quality music. Mike City only handles production and songwriting credits on three songs this time around, and I'm thinking maybe he should have stuck around more. A few of the songs use rehashed ideas, like "Switch It Up," which talks about goin' out to the club after being done wrong by your man. And while the I'm-in-love-with-a-thug ode "Force of Nature" starts off fine, it becomes weird when she starts talking about likin' the guy's dirty drawers. "Trust" suffers from weird production, and "Problems" is full of just that.

There ARE still some good songs though, like "Wear the Crown", the aptly titled "Unbelievable", and the creative "Something I Wanna Give You". But even then there really aren't any songs as stellar as "Last Night" or "Where Have You Been" from Sunshine's first album. It's good that she was finally able to release a second album, but you should really borrow this first.

Anthony Rupert

A lot of people didn't think she could forge a comeback. After her one-hit wonder "Heard It All Before," there was a lot of doubt that Sunshine Anderson would ever surface again. But here she is, some 6 years later, trying again with her sophomore release Sunshine At Midnight. The title's almost as ridiculous as how the songs on this album sound. The background on "Something I Wanna Give You" is too overbearing and "Trust" has a rocked out beat that nobody is checking for when it's coupled with Sunshine's uninteresting lyrics. The production kills a lot of the songs on Sunshine At Midnight. "Good Love" sounds like the beat was created on children's keyboard while "With You Baby" is elementary at best. "My Whole Life" continues the monotonous singing that doomed Sunshine Anderson's first album. Her voice remains mind-numbing on countless songs including "Problems," "Unbelievable" and "Switch It Up," all songs she can be applied to her singing ability (or lack thereof!) The majority of the songs are mundane and dull, with lyrics and vocal presence taking much of the blame. Since there is little to be desired on Sunshine At Midnight, it looks like the sun will be setting on this singer's short-lived musical career.

I just Love Sunshine Anderson and being that i didn't own this Cd I am glad I added it to my collection, she is a great artist!!

Sorry for the delay - I'm out of town at this time and I reviewed this last night but I must have forgotten to submit. The CD was in excellent condition and arrived in a timely manner.

Thanks,

Lorine

Sunshine Anderson - Sunshine at Midnight (Music World, 2007)

In 2001, Sunshine Anderson kicked her trifling man to the curb in the slammin' anthem, "Heard it All Before". She released Your Woman to favorable reviews but that album wasn't exactly flying off the shelves. She was soon demoted to one-hit wonder status and went the way of Blu Cantrell and Truth Hurts. Usually, one-trick ponies don't get another chance, especially not from former Destiny's Child manager Mathew Knowles, who scooped her up to release her second album, Sunshine at Midnight. Unfortunately, Sunshine and her team ruin the moment to capitalize on this second chance.

Most of these moments are just like the song title of Sunshine's only hit: you've heard it all before. Her single, "Something I Wanna Give You", holds nothing back as she tells her loser man, "You were so-so in bed/I faked it more times than I can count on my hand", but this is just a lazy rehash of the aforementioned hit. Other songs find Sunshine fumbling by either singing uninspired lyrics or just sounding uninspired by her singing (she never did had the best voice). Even Raphael Saadiq's production can't save "Wear the Crown"; however, her last album's main contributor, Mike City, does save the only tracks that he produces. Yes, the sophomore jinx rears its ugly head as the album has no replay value whatsoever, perhaps making the sun set on this lady's once-promising career. -EJR

Sunshine has the potential to be around for long time in the business as long as she keeps some great writers creating material just for her! She can truly sing! Great CD!

Welcome back Sunshine!!! She puts out a pretty strong album though toward the end the music begins to sound like pretty run of the mill R&B. Her strength is the angry black woman anthems,but she really fights against being stereotyped with a few love songs, which are good. I just like it more when she's angry, then you can really hear the passion. There's no shame in being an angry black woman Sunshine, there are many many out there and they need music too, stick to your strengths. Overall though I missed her music and am glad she's back.

I'm sooo happy that Sunshine Anderson is back! And she comes back with amazing new music. I really love the album. It's in heavy rotation in the car, for sure!