Brenda K. Starr

With an abundance of producers and writers, By Heart strived to pick up where Starr's breakthrough sophomore set, Brenda K. Starr, left off. Deodato and Stephen Broughton Lunt, who had produced her Top-40 hits "I Still Believe" and "What You See Is What You Get" were called upon once more; and the services of Rick Wake, Guy Roche, Michael Jay, and Richard Scher were also enlisted to diversify the palette. Somehow, there is a consistency amongst the various production and songwriting values. Especially notable are the down-to-earth call to unity, "What If," a soulful pop mid-tempo number; the endearing and poignant ballad "Never Let You Go" (melody and lyrics penned by Starr); and the heartwarming title track. But there isn't necessarily always strength in numbers. Several entries -- notably the generic club number "Let's Go Undercover" and the disposable, contrived cheese-pop of "Wake Up the Neighbors" -- fall prey to the unimaginative banality that hindered a good portion of Starr's 1987 set. But that problem is considerably brief on By Heart, given the impressive mixture of both coveted and newcomer contributors and a good balance of slow and fast tempos. For the first time, here Starr gets to shine over a sizeable production budget and define her ability to adapt to a number of vocal contexts -- from freestyle ("What Goes On") to R&B balladry ("You Touch Me in All the Right Places") to pure pop (the only single release, "If You Could Read My Mind"). Unfortunately, the album's repeatedly delayed release and an obvious lack of promotional muscle when it finally did hit shelves prevented it from going anywhere -- and Starr was dropped from the label shortly after its release. She has since carved a successful second career for herself as a salsa songstress; and for those fans looking for a nice taste of her earlier English-language material, By Heart is the best start. ~ Justin M. Kantor, All Music Guide