Brand New Heavies

VINYL FORMAT. "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.'" - All Music Guide