Rating: ***
Rose Ann Dimalanta is a former member of Prince's band (2003-2004) and recorded and performed under the name "rad" from 1992-2009 all over Europe and Japan. Rad indeed.
She's back with an album called "It's Time". She's put together a helluva backing band for the effort with Raymond McKinley on bass and Massimo Buonanno on drums.
I love Prince and am usually fond of Prince adjacent artists so I'm hoping this effort by the artist formerly named "rad" comes through in the same way.
I'm gonna get my funk and soul ears on and give this a serious listen. Hopefully, it makes me dance a little. I love dancing.
Let's do it to it.
Watch the music video for "Miles" on Youtube here:
"Forever Day by Day" gets things started with some gorgeous piano. Dimalanta has a sultry and soulful voice but this tune is only ok. Would have preferred something a little hotter for the opener. Track two is "Ten Miles to Empty" is a little funkier and a lot more fun. Reminds me of Chaka Khan a little. "Dinner for One" is a ballad and it's a good sound for her. This one really highlights her singing range. Strong track. "Seven Days" is a mostly instrumental tune that isn't particularly interesting and comes off like a really long intro to something that never actually happens. "Happily Never After" is a slow-tempo, sad affair. I like it though. Moody and earnest, it's one of the highlights for the first half of the record. "Measure of a Man" is solid, while "Truly Love Someone" might be the best overall track on the album thus far. Jazzy and melodic, the band really hits its stride here. "Latin Soul" changes things up a bit with a world music flavor yet heard on the LP. Spicy. "Miles" is the latest single for good reason. Easily the most radio-friendly track on the album, I can see it reaching a much broader pop-loving fanbase. "No Goodbyein'" has a cool electronic vibe and is really catchy. This has single written all over it as well. "Mad Run" slows things down and isn't my favorite track on the album but it's not bad. The second half of the album was humming along so well and this track seemed to bring the party to a halt a bit. We end on "That's All" and it's jazzy and pleasant. A fitting end to an album that was truly a tale of two halves.
There's enough good here to give it a strong recommend it to fans of the genre. I thought it was a mixed bag, but the stronger tracks were excellent which brought my rating to three stars. Overall, it's good. Give it a whirl.