Right Back Where We Started From

At age 22, former Jesus Christ Superstar starlet Maxine Nightingale scored a major international smash with the driving R&B ballad "Right Back Where We Started From." Pushed to greater immortality by its appearance in the Paul Newman movie Slap Shot, the song led into Nightingale's solo debut album with a promise that the remainder of the set readily lived up to. Nightingale's infectiously smoky vocals are powerful enough even to overcome some surprisingly weak material. "Everytime I See a Butterfly" really is as mawkish as its title suggests, but Nightingale transforms it into a thing of fragile beauty regardless. She is at her strongest, however, with lyrics that naturally adapt themselves to her sensuous vocal intonation. "(I Think I Wanna) Possess You" and "You Got the Love" are both moody showcases for her dynamic range, while the number 53 hit "You Gotta Be the One" has a infectious allure all of its own. In the long run, Nightingale never truly lived up to the promise that the title track suggested, and it is ironic that, of her three charting albums, her debut was the least successful. It is her finest by far. ~ Amy Hanson