Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Vesta Brings It With 'Distant Lover', February 8, 2007
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
CONGRATULA A A A TIONS, MISS VESTA!!!!!, February 16, 2007
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!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice, Vesta!!!!!, March 26, 2007
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!!!!
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