Miss Gladys Knight

The year 1978 saw the release of no less than three new albums by Gladys Knight and/or the Pips. Together, they recorded The One and Only for Buddah -- and the albums they recorded separately were the Pips' Callin' on Casablanca and Knight's Miss Gladys Knight on Buddah. This vinyl LP was Knight's very first solo album; not until 1990 did she become a full-time solo artist and part company with the Pips for good. Produced by Gary Klein or Tony Macaulay, Miss Gladys Knight usually finds the singer walking a fine line between R&B and adult contemporary. "It's a Better Than Good Time," which she also recorded with the Pips for The One and Only, is an appealing, string-laden soul-disco item that would have been perfect for Loleatta Holloway, Linda Clifford, Thelma Houston, or Gloria Gaynor. But that danceable song isn't representative of the record on the whole. This is primarily an album of ballads, and tracks like "I'm Still Caught Up With You" and "We Don't Make Each Other Laugh Anymore" have one foot in R&B and the other in adult contemporary. Although pleasant and decent, Miss Gladys Knight isn't a masterpiece and isn't among her essential recordings. This album is only recommended to collectors, who should be aware of the fact that in 1994, Castle reissued Miss Gladys Knight and The One and Only back to back on a single CD. ~ Alex Henderson