(不足10人评分)
12人收藏
共7首歌曲
by Stephen Cook
Like fellow Southern soul diva Millie Jackson, Denise LaSalle can often transform inane material into something worthwhile. On The Bitch Is Bad, she makes it easy to overlook the plodding disco arrangement for &Move Your Body& or overwrought synth squiggles on &A Love Magician& with solidly soulful vocal performances. Even a cheap imitation of Marvin Gaye's &Let's Get It On& -- titled &Fool Me Good& here -- survives thanks to her smoldering delivery. The predominantly lightweight arrangements, though, ultimately diffuse the impact of LaSalle's voice. It's not that the songs are a wash, or that LaSalle should be excluded from musical exploration; it's more that we don't get to hear her at her best, as on the 1972 Stax-inspired On the Loose or the recent return-to-form outings for the Malaco label. Whether it was the ABC Records' skewed career-reviving strategy or her own lapse in taste (remember Jackson's disastrous Just a Lil' Bit Country?), LaSalle's attempt to jump on the disco/light soul bandwagon in the late '70s didn't work. A consolation, though, certainly must be the The Bitch Is Bad's over-the-top album cover -- clad in a black silk night dress, LaSalle stands poolside atop a fake lionskin rug whilst being fondled by a bathing stud. It's a must for any kitsch album cover collection, but the music within unfortunately does not make this indulgent tableau icing on the cake, or represent the best LaSalle can offer.