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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A more muted Jennifer, but still good nevertheless, November 4, 2003
Jennifer Rush was still on Columbia, but not on its US imprint, so it was to Germany to get this recorded and released. She continues to rely on multiple producers, such as Phil Ramone, to get Wings Of Desire off the ground. I'm not sure if this was inspired by Wim Wenders' film of the same name a few years prior. The barrage of keyboards is muted here, enabling one to fully appreciate more of Jennifer Rush's vocals, but neither does she go operatic as she did on Heart Over Mind and Passion, something I really miss here. Then again, maybe she ditched that approach because other people were put off by it. Pity, that. But she drifts towards 60's and 80's-type soul.The title track has a bounce and synths recalling Taylor Dayne, though it's not produced by Ric Wake. However, the theme of hesitating, waiting, and keeping one's soul in chains makes me wonder if it was Wender's film that was the inspiration. Succeed or fail, she says "I wanna soar wanna fall/I wanna feel it all on the wings of desire." "Pleasure" definitely has a sensual atmosphere given the echoing backing vocals by Linda Taylor. Love that whistling flute-like keyboard that was used in Lionel Richie's "Hello." Jennifer's voice is at its best here. A standout cut like the title cut, which was produced by Christopher Neil. Pity he didn't do more of the album, because it could've used his touch. Carlos Alomar's guitar gives "Midnight Mirage" a subtle U2 sound in parts. "Angel" has a quieter melodic jazz sound Sade used on her first two albums. It's another one of those "Now that you're on your own [but] there's somewhere you can go" songs prevalent on Passion. This also features Alomar's guitar, and both of them are Phil Ramone productions. No, "Higher Ground" is not the Stevie Wonder song, but the synth keyboards pound out a soulful rhythm like Jackie Wilson's "Higher And Higher" or Phil Collins' rendition of "You Can't Hurry Love." Nice and snappy, showing Jennifer can tackle 60's style soul. The mid-paced nightclub sound of "Love Is A Wild Thing" shows the ultimate goal of finding someone else: "Armed with the best intentions/our eyes are burning through the dark/wondering if dreams are gonna find their mark." Too true, that. "For All That" is airy danceable 70's AM radio soul and despite extreme opposite personalities, she still affirms, "for all that I still want you." "Love Is The Language (Of The Heart)" She sings of its mystery and the need for whoever to speak it low to her. "It's automatic/oh, don't try to analyze/love's got the texture/if you've got the touch/it loses its magic/whenever it's verbalized" she sings. "Where Can You Run" shows that in terms of writing songwriting and music, not vocals, Michael Bolton is talented, and this song is probably the best here in terms of instrumentation and the ability to effectively showcase Jen's voice. The collapse of one's standing, self-assurance, and place in the game, leading to desertion by friends, yes that's familiar, but that one person who'll be a safety net, yes, that's what she says she'll be in troubled times. While Jennifer's voice is still a wonder, the production here doesn't enable it to be showcased effectively, as the sound takes away from it, and Phil Ramone, despite his great work with Billy Joel and Julian Lennon, is the chief culprit here, although "Walk Away" is notable. The choice of songs is another debit as well, as there are some filler tracks I didn't bother mentioning.
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by Jennifer Rush 
