Cherrelle Album: “Woman I Am”

The Woman I Am is a gorgeous surprise. I knew I was taking a gamble when I bought this record because the creative team Jam & Lewis who were behind her first albums Affair, High Priority etc. (and who write songs for Alexander O Neal, Janet Jackson and nearly every other major R&B act) were not involved. Just try to resist the Narada Michael Walden produced ol' skool slow jam "Gee Whiz" or another Narada track the sublime upbeat "Still In Love With You" which is the highlight of her career in my eyes. "Never In My Life", "7 Days", "Nothing's Gonna Stop" you could go on as all these tracks require repeat listening. So don't be put off by the abscence of super producers Jam & Lewis because they are replaced by other well known A-List producers. She may not be as vocally talented as Whitney but she gets the job done (although vocally she sh*ts all over Janet Jackson) and with these great songs it really doesn't matter.

Cherrelle had mainstream and R&B success, but this AOR/Soul release was a move too far away from her Jam & Lewis years to keep her in the limelight. Shame, as this album contains some of her best vocals - Never in My Life should be up considered a gold-standard for diva ballads with a truly powerhouse rendition. The Woman I Am continues the power-ballad theme, but the album has a good mix of old and new school. Tears of Joy, Still In Love With You and Baby It's You are standout tracks and Cherrelle should be eternally proud of the outcome of this sadly under-exposed release.

Los Angeles R&B singer Cherrelle got her start in the music industry as a background singer. She moved to the forefront as a solo singer when she signed with Tabu Records to release her 1984 debut "Fragile". It was there at the label where she would cultivate a working relationship with the label's in-house production team Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis- who produced half of "Fragile". On that album she released her first hit "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On". Jam & Lewis assumed full production duties for her sophomore effort "High Priority", which yielded her biggest hits- the Alexander O'Neal duet "Saturday Love" as well as "You Look Good To Me". On her third album "Affair", she released an album during the period where Jam & Lewis were inspired to do concept albums. In that timeframe, they also did Alexander O'Neal's "Hearsay", New Edition's "Heart Break" and Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation 1814". Her album- which dealt with the arc of a beginning and end of an extramarital affair- gave her another hit with "Everything I miss At Home". For all the success she had with Jam & Lewis, she felt the need to establish her own identity without the hitmaking duo.

She went ahead with plans to ditch the team and work on her next album with new producers. She took control of her fourth project with 1991's "The Woman I Am". On her album, she enlists the talents of producer Narada Michael Walden (Best known for his work with Shanice Wilson, Tevin Campbell, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston). He helms most of "The Woman I Am", including the first single about independence "Never In My Life". The production team of Zack Harmon & Christopher Troy (Troop, Nona Gaye, Karyn White) produces the best songs on the album- "7 Days A Week" and the album's closing ballad "Where Do We Go From Here". Former Heatwave keyboardist Derek Bramble produces the new jack swing influenced "Love Me Tonight". Recording engineer Keith "K.C." Cohen (Paula Abdul) handles the second single "Tears Of Joy" as well as The Shirelles' remake "Baby It's You". Another remake Cherrelle attempts is the ballad originally written and performed by Carla Thomas "Gee Whiz". While Cherelle's "The Woman I Am" is a decent offering, the album sounds very out of place for her. The choice of material would have been better suited for a singer attempting to chase the pop charts. Musically, it sounded too saccharine and infantile for a singer of her caliber. In short, file this one under "for fans only".