I am VERY jealous of Marlon Saunders, it has to be said. He works with the most deliciously beautiful of women, April Hill and now Gemma Genazzano. I would give my right arm to be within a mile of these Ladies, let alone a recording studio! Sigh. Oh well, enough of my moaning and onto the CD. This gorgeous Lady has been on the scene for a number of years, and as you would expect most songs are sung in Spanish. Please do NOT be put off by this. Goodness, what a sexy vocalist - the language is superficial when you hear how sensual she is. Think Gabriella Anders in a sexy, wistful mood - and Marlon Saunders SUPERB production which transports us back to the lush, warm 1970s. The musical backdrop on "Enamorada" could easily be taken from Marvin's "I Want You" album or Leon Ware's "Musical Massage" album. Yes, we are talking SERIOUSLY SOULFUL. Real melodies, real instruments and real talent. What more do we want, to be honest?I would love to also bring "Way, Way Down" to the limelight - the sax which opens the door to Gemma's sexy, soaring vocals is amazing. The dreamy keys also work well and when Gemma hits the high notes I can hear a likeness with Susaye Green! Delivered in English, Gemma is both passionate and sensual. The wah-wah guitar and horns bring to mind Leon Ware or even Quincy Jones and I really commend Marlon on this particular album. "Talk To Me", brassy and bold will also win you over too - very 70s in orientation again. The scene set by "Secretos" is almost 70s Blaxpoitation with a jazzy vibe. Nice strings, too. The Spanish vocals do sound odd on here to me, but not offputting. Being English and lazy I only understand my own tongue! AND most others have no idea what I'm papping on about either, so whichever way you look at it I'm onto a loser! No such problems for Gemma when she duets with Marlon Saunders on "Show Me Who You Are", a track which is more like his Jazzhole output and very good it is to boot. On balance I think this Lady is more at home in her own tongue and she certainly knows how to work each word, each phrase to sexy effect, and Marlon knows how to marry that to his superb music. Easy to see why he gets the girls and I'm sat at home on my own like a Numpty! I can't even play the spoons!!! An excellent and different album rich in soul, jazz and sass.
Barry Towler
The Vibe Scribe
The Vibe Scribe
