i’ve been a fan of jody watley since my youth, when this amazing artist first struck out on her solo career from the popular, shalamar. my mom, my aunt, even my regular babysitter were all fans of watley which ensured that I kept up with her career through the ‘90s. But somehow, I never discovered watley’s album, “flower”, so imagine how surprised I was when I found it on itunes! After some digging i found that the album was meant to be a comeback for jody watley, but problems with the label prevented a states-side release and prompting watley to almost decide on a musical retirement! After getting the album downloaded onto my ipod, i can understand watley’s frustration – this is an AWESOME album. i received this album at a perfect time in my life as i was just separating from my partner of three years and for the first time in a LONG time, striking out on my own. “flower” is almost an echo of my own personal journey from start to finish as watley soulfully sings of love, passion, unfortunate breakup, but later emancipation, and inner strength. the ballad, ‘just one more time’, is ripe with such strong emotion and beauty that I thought I would cry at first listen, and – whitney who? ‘if i’m not in love’ is yet another powerful love song to add to the lengthy list owned by jody watley. watley doesn’t shy away from her dance roots either, ‘off the hook’, and ‘baby tonight’, are sexy tunes one can’t help but want to get down to!
i’m VERY pleased i now own this album and what’s more, that watley continues to produce quality music to this day. “flower” is a definite step between jody’s “intimacy” of 1993 and 2001’s “saturday night experience” -- highlighting the evolution of this inspiring artist. It’s been several weeks since I first obtained, “flower”, and i continue to play the album on regular basis for whatever mood I may be in. it’s THAT good.
five out of five stars.
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