Audience of One
Artist: Heather Headley
Label: EMI Gospel

Associated more with alt' soul and her Broadway roles, Heather Headley returns to her church-singing youthful roots (dad's a pastor in Trinidad) with a stunning gospel project. 

Her voice has already proven to be a stunner. A Tony and some Grammy nominations evidence as much. Yolanda Adams, who may be Headley's closest counterpart in soul gospel, should wish to have such an emotive, intense instrument. 

Audience of One covers stylistic breadth that could gain Headley some club play and has already won her spins on adult r&b stations (yes, I'm reviewing this more than a tad late). Lyrically, she mines a richness that looks to p re-20th century black spirituals and white hymnody as well as contemporary praise & worship. 

   The album's multiple-format first hit has been a remake of The Comodores' early '80s nod to the Lord, "Jesus Is Love." As a chorally-backed duet with labelmate Smokie Norful, it's as apt a crossover as anything by James Fortune or Kirk Franklin. 

Orchestration reminiscent of an update to some of Mahalia Jackson's Columbia Records' work dominates some of the ten tracks. The highlights of that approach comes in a medley of old hymns, including "'Tis So Sweet To Trust In Jesus" and "I Nee Thee Every Hour" and "Power of the Cross." Another number with choral accompaniment, "I Know The Lord Will Make A Way," sounds like one of those high-gloss takes on traditional African-American gospel like Whitney Houston handled in The Preacher's Wife, but proffered with more humility and less bravado. A remake of Tim Hughes' "Here I Am To Worship" brings that trad' approach to a more refined style that wouldn't be out of place on a Richard Smallwood album.

And though it may not at first sound like such a piece, "Ordinary Me" has the juice to put Headley in the league of great gospel disco/house divas with mid-'80s Tramaine Hawkins and Candi Staton and the more current work of lungbusters such as Dawn Tallman and Vernessa Mitchell. It's easy to hear a remix in the offing. The irony is that the song and Headley's assaying of it bely the kind of divahood generally take for granted among so many soul gospel ladies  

To say that Headley sings with a minimum of ego does not, however, mean that she lacks power. This is worshipful, testifyin' stuff, sung with the as if to bless the Giver of her vocal gift with a gift of her own. 

Since European-American gals such as Martha Munizzi and Vicki Yohe have received so much attention in black sacred music circles, it's a shame that Headley's not getting any love from cCm radio (that I can detect, anyway). Whether she stays with gospel for good or only broaches it between other projects, it's worth eavesdropping when Headley sings to her audience of One.

Jamie Lee Rake