Vanessa Freeman - Shades

After being a supporting player for so long, Vanessa Freeman finally comes into her own with her solo album, _Shades_. Ably assisted by Phil Asher, Freeman sings with strength and soul, showing why she's such a hot commodity. The mellow and funky "Show Me" and "Veronique" have nice, emotive qualities to them, while "The Way" and the title track edge towards broken beat jazz. And while her vocals soar throughout the tracks, I think a few of the musical offerings don't stand up to her power: "Hang Tight" sounds much too typical; "Cover Me" sounds a little too thin to be appropriately funky; and "Life Line" is just a hot mess. But luckily, the electro vibe of "This Love" manages to be spry and groovy, and "Notice Me," has some interesting string action going on that gives it a different texture. So just as Freeman shows the different shades in her voice, this album as a whole has different shades of quality.