Angie Stone’s “Dream,” Advance CD Review

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…..Aside from her years with Sequence and Vertical Hold, the elements of Angie’s style—the honeyed husk of an alto, lyrical prowess and the ability to meld classic and contemporary R&B — have kept the South Carolina native in-demand as one of the most revered and recognizable voices of Neo Soul. Stone is at her artistic best when her vocals and ‘wise sister-girlfriend’ persona are allowed to shine, a feat accomplished in part thanks to executive and producer Walter W. Milsap III (Timbaland, Alicia Keys,Beyonce).

Unlike her 2012 CD, the enjoyable but overlooked Rich Girl, the tracks here employ some vintage touches, yet retain modern flair as Angie offers glimpses into the present and past. There’s her new status as a footloose free agent in the plucky, disco-esque “Dollar Bill” (“I’m not searching for a Mr. Right right now/I’m living up in the city tonight, it’s going down”), the scold-filled self-inventory fueling the moody, delicate slow groove, “Magnet” (“I wish I had good sense enough to tell when you were just telling me what I want to hear/I told him ‘I love you,’ he told me he loved me too, but his kisses never felt sincere”) and her first-ever duet with Dave Hollister, the lament-filled ballad “Begin Again,” which posits the two as a former couple deciding to reunite instead of being “back in the club brushing off the dust” to find someone new: “You’ve got me spoiled Baby,” Hollister pleads in his velvety croon, “these [muted] ain’t loyal, naw naw….”

Angie’s introspection doesn’t stop there, however. Yes, she’s pleading to be left alone with her sexy fantasies in the tantalizing title track (“Ooh you’re making me mimosa, then you lay my body down on the sofa/And I-yi-yi he’s handling his business, dark-skinned like Idris/WOO! I could scream, let me dream”) and confessing that a particular man is an addiction she needs to shake in the CD’s first single, “2 Bad Habits,” but…..(please click here to read the full review at soultracks.com)

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