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Heather Headley Album - This Is Who I Am
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Release Date:2002-08-01
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Type:Promotional
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Genre:R&B, Adult R&B, Women Of R&B
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Label:RCA/BMG
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Explicit Lyrics:No
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Review - Yahoo! Music - Dan Leroy :
In an R&B environment where done-with-mirrors divas like Ashanti flourish, does it matter anymore if a singer really knows her craft? For the answer, cue up the debut of Tony Award winner Heather Headley, whose polish, skill, and class set these dozen tunes apart on first listen.The former star of The Lion King and Aida has the usual A-list writers (Jam and Lewis, Dallas Austin, etc.) contributing songs, which range from earthquaking balladry to a dancehall-tinged nod to her island roots. Without Headley's blend of gospel passion and Broadway precision, however, This Is Who I Am would have been just another likeable-but-forgettable footnote from the latest Toni/Mariah/Whitney wannabe. Instead, Headley's guts and polish make keepers of languid throwaways and turn good, earthy grooves--the blues-based "He Is" and "Like Ya Use To"--into something great. Oh, and despite the heavyweight collaborators, the best track ("Sista Girl," a moving, moral paean to abstinence) came from her own pen. What can you say but bravo? Review - AMG :
Though she didn't come out of the R&B tradition, Heather Headley has plenty of soul on her debut, This Is Who I Am. Headley, a singer whose vocal strength isn't mere compensation for a lack of interpretive skills or lame songwriting, possesses a range that's surprising and welcome; she slips on dramatic personas continually here, quite ironic considering the title. The arrangements aren't exactly hooky, but the cast of producers -- including Dallas Austin, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and D'Influence, use everything in their power -- from a Hammond B-3 to synthesizers -- to flesh out these songs. Occasionally, the songs don't reflect their age very well, as on the regrets of a stay-at-home girlfriend ("I Wish I Wasn't") or an increasingly angry housewife who's been neglected ("Like Ya Used To"). The opener, "He Is" (by songwriter/producer Joshua Nile), is very good though -- an intriguing angle on female thoughts about the male side of love (or, just possibly, a look at the aspects of God). Headley sounds excellent throughout, her voice pure as crystal on the ballads, occasionally outré in similar fashion to Mariah Carey, but gritty and soulful when she's sorting out the responsibilities of a relationship in "Fulltime." ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
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