Evelyn Foxx

Evelyn Foxx's debut solo album is straightforward gospel in her lyrics and vocals; musically, Foxx is rooted in the quieter side of 1970s soul, as in the early days of quiet storm, when singers like Al Green (Foxx's most obvious point of comparison), Donny Hathaway, and Bill Withers were making quiet, intimate records that didn't blast off for the stars in the style of shouters like Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin. Foxx is a powerful singer, but her gift is her palpable sense of restraint, the near conversational ease of her singing on smooth, soulful tunes like "God Is So Good." This sets up a dynamic for the album as a whole, so that when the testifying starts in earnest on the single "What Kind of Man Is This?" (which appears in two versions, one of which has an extended vocal break), the effect is that much more powerful. The old-school arrangements, which integrate synths and modern production techniques with proper organ, guitar, and horns, are equally fine. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi