Albums

Beverly Knight - Voice

Russ Essom 19/03/2006

Rating: 3/5

Beverley Knight is a tribute to herself. She was the first and, to my mind, the only soul singer of any reputable position to have hailed from Britain. Everyone knows a Beverley Knight song.
I have had the privilege of getting her greatest hits in my grubby little mits (please note that my mits are neither grubby nor little, I am using a relative metaphor) and, I daresay that, no word of a lie, without beating about the bush; it's a joke. Surely this isn't real?
It is, and don't call me Shirley.


Beverley is still, yes, even after 10 years, an aspiring artist with so much more to give than she has thus far, she is in her prime, so why, for the love of God has she released a greatest compilation? It seems a shame to me that such a fantastic figure in music has made a frank admission of well, giving up. Now, I know we have all seen bands and artists produce greatest hits discs and then continue their careers, but only Queen and Michael Jackson have ever pulled it off - I doubt whether Ms. Knight has that panache - so will this signal the end of a revolution?
I hope not, for the simple reason that on Beverley Knight's greatest hits CD, the hits are exactly that - great. From recent releases such as “Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda” and “Come as you are”, to older, more soulful tunes like, “Made it Back” and “Greatest Day”, all the memorable moments of her 10 year career in transmitting black culture across the British Isles is documented here - and it's lovely.


To be honest, if you're going out to buy a “Best of”, you're more than likely to know the songs on it, and the artist by whom they are performed, but suffice to say that there isn't a bad song on this disc - and Beverley has very generously gone to the length of recording two cover versions, “Piece of my heart” and “Angels”.
Lord, let not this be the end of ol' Bev, and may her soul (get it?) live on.