The Brand New Heavies

世界的に大ヒットを記録したデビュー・アルバム!(オリジナル発売1990年/リイシュー2014年)ヒット・シングル「Dream Come True」や「Stay This Way」収録!
1988年のデビューから30年、今もなおダンサブルなサウンドで不動の人気を誇る"アシッド・ジャズの王者"、ザ・ブラン・ニュー・ヘヴィーズ。1990年に名門〈Acid Jazz〉よりリリースされたデビュー・アルバム『ザ・ブラン・ニュー・ヘヴィーズ』が登場!一世を風靡した「Dream Come True」や「Stay This Way」等の代表的なヒット・シングルを収録。

Musician - "...they may have an old-fashioned sense of soul, but their pop smarts are thoroughly up-to-date..." Entertainment Weekly - Rating: B+ Q - 3 Stars - Good - "...light yet luxuriant music...nothing ought to stop them now..."

Many of the artists who were part of Britain's soul scene of the late '80s/early '90s, including Soul II Soul, Lisa Stansfield, and Caron Wheeler, took a high-tech, neo-soul approach, combining '70s-influenced R&B and disco with elements of hip-hop. The equally impressive Brand New Heavies, however, used technology sparingly, stressed the use of real instruments, and were unapologetically retro and '70s-sounding through and through. Drawing on such influences as the Average White Band and Tower of Power, the Heavies triumph by sticking with the classic R&B approach they clearly love the most. The band has a jewel of a singer in N'Dea Davenport, who is characteristically expressive on "Dream Come True" and "Stay This Way." Real horns -- not synthesizers made to sound like horns -- enrich those gems as well as the sweaty vocal funk of "People Get Ready" and "Put the Funk Back in It" and the jazz-influenced instrumental "BNH." While this fine album enjoyed cult hit status, it was sadly ignored by American urban contemporary radio. ~ Alex Henderson|