Passion

Gifted with a voice that illuminates with such vigor to convey life's most inspiring and harshest moments, Regina Belle presents an album that steadfastly utilizes her vocal attributes. The New Jersey native's first single was the sentimental number "If I Could," a timeless tune that reflects a parent's desire to make life as easy as possible for their offspring. It cracked the Billboard R&B Top Ten at number nine after 21 weeks on the charts. The follow-up single was "Dream in Color." Set to a gospel-seasoned rhythm track, Belle expresses the ambitions of the idealistic lyric with an uplifting delivery. It only managed to peak at number 63 after a mere nine weeks. There were no other releases, but every song here is worthy of chart attention. The majority of the songs are ballads and mid-tempo numbers. One would think that with the sultry singer's impressive history of chart activity, the record company would expend more time and effort on such a proven artist. As the title indicates, Belle extends much passion in each one of these songs. She's lacking nothing on any one of these performances and the material is appropriately suited to the songstress. The album begins with the ardent title track, "Passion," and concludes with the inspirational "One Love." From the jazzy blues to the soulful R&B and pop-oriented tunes, Belle's vocals are mesmerizing to the last note. ~ Craig Lytle