Straight outta Syracuse, NY, Vanessa Williams is by far the most successful of the women who have worn the crown of Miss America. Though Vanessa became the first woman of color to earn the title back in 1983, her reputation was temporarily sullied when pics of her grindin' pon some other gyal dem surfaced in Penthouse magazine. Instead of hanging her head in shame, Vanessa The Undressa has flourished, with careers in music, on Broadway, in TV & movies, and even as a product pitchwoman. Ironically, she's also become known as one of the more wholesome celebrities around.
Musically, Vanessa began her career in the Janet Jackson/Jody Watley vein with hits like "The Right Stuff" before finding her niche as an adult contemporary balladeer, with hits like "Save The Best For Last" and "Colors Of The Wind." "Everlasting Love," her ninth album (counting 2 holiday albums and 2 hits collections), finds Vanessa in a Valentine's sort of mood, covering some of the best known love songs of the Seventies and early Eighties. Showing commitment to her craft, Vanessa recorded the songs with a full band.

However, the album turns out to be as boring as watching paint dry. While Vanessa is a great vocalist, there's been the assertion for quite some time that her voice doesn't have enough character and grit to pull off soul music. While the songs are pleasant enough, the listener might often find himself consumed by thoughts of "did she have to remake this song?", "Damn, I liked this better the first time" and "Dear Lord this album is boring!!"

A typical problem with covers album is the fact that some songs just don't need to be touched, while others have just been touched too much. Both problems rear their ugly heads several times on this set. We all know "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". Roberta Flack made it famous. Celine Dion covered it. George Michael covered it. It was a freaking Oil Of Olay jingle when I was a kid, for crying out loud! Vanessa's version, again, is pleasant, but there's nothing more that can be done with this particular song. Ditto for The Stylistics' "You Are Everything," which has been tackled by divas from Diana to Mary J. Even though there's a slight changeup with a shuffle beat and a new background arrangement, we've all heard this song one too many times by one too many people. Vanessa's not a showy singer, fine. But she undersells these songs, and her smooth jazz-lite instrumental backing doesn't help matters.

Then there's the stuff she shouldn't have gone near. Vanessa-news flash. You are *not* Chaka Khan. Williams takes one of Khan's more mellow excursions, "Everlasting Love," and turns it into an easy listening trifle. Where Chaka's voice made you want to testify, Vanessa's makes you yearn for a mug of warm milk. And if you thought it was impossible to de-funk a song by any band with a member named Sugarfoot, check out her bland, colorless version of the Ohio Players' "Let's Love."

Even a quick infusion of guest artist goodness can't help matters much. George Benson shows up twice. First, he adds some guitar to a version of yet another covered to death song, The Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye." Then he adds a vocal to a version of Billy Preston & Syreeta's "With You I'm Born Again." Those of you that remember this hit from 1980 will know that it's cheese factor stood high even in a year that brought us "All Out of Love" and "Sailing." However, George & Vanessa basically turn in a karaoke performance here. Why George Benson, who has one of the more recognizable voices in soul music, felt the need to sacrifice his own style to basically Xerox the original version of this tune is beyond me.

The album's extended suite of ballads is also a bit much. At least Vanessa's previous studio albums could be counted on to offer an uptempo jam or two to break up the monotony. Everlasting Love doesn't pick up in pace until the end-and the results are disastrous even then. Vanessa turns in a lame supper club version of The Isley Brothers' "Harvest For the World." You can almost picture Vanessa at some casino theater in her white gown, going into the audience to shake hands as the band plays an extended version of this song. "Vegas, you're a great city! Thank you!". The album's one redeeming factor is a chunky version of The Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good To You," which features a playful duet vocal from early Eighties disco star James "D-Train" Williams.

I mentioned to a friend of mine how disappointed I was in this album, and their response was "well, essentially, Vanessa's a cabaret singer." Even in her heyday, her vocals were a bit too mannered and precise to handle any sort of sangin'. The smart look would've been to stay away from the soul and funk workouts, because her voice sucks all of the soul and funk out of these songs-making "Everlasting Love" just another collection of boring adult contemporary ballads. Hmmm...maybe she should go back to doing Radio Shack commercials...

Michael Speed