| Category | Rating |
|---|---|
| Track Structure | 9 |
| Interest | 9 |
| Melody | 9 |
| Performance | 9 |
| Lyrics | 9 |
| Enjoyment | 9 |
| Recording Quality | 8 |
| Commercial Appeal | 9 |
| Overall | 8.9 |
Right now here in the UK, Duffy is pretty much one of the hottest properties around in the music industry. And for good reason too, her retro 60's/Motown sound is a breath of fresh air among a tide of highly polished but severely lacking in substance (too my ears at least) Rn'B tracks washing in from the States, that the UK has been trying to emulate for years and only recently found the answer in Leona Lewis. They were missing the point all along of course, what they really should have been trying to find was something original, or at least different in the current climate. Now we have that and Duffy looks set to conquer the UK music scene, if not quite the world, yet.
When tackling this review I started to compare this to the original, to see how close Essence's vocal matched that of Duffy's. This would probably be missing the point entirely though as Duffy has a voice which today sounds almost unique unless you here it mixed in among a group of 60's tracks by the likes of Dusty Springfield and Martha and the Vandellas. So judging this purely on the performance by Essence herself, what do we have? Well first off let me say that I have always liked Essence's voice. It is not the most powerful you will hear, like a Leona Lewis or Mariah Carey but she has a great tone and style of her own. You can hear Essence's accent coming through a little when she sings and the way she pronounces and emphasises certain words and phrases (like the way she sings "I love (a) you" and "I'm begging P(a)lease") not only on this track but some of her own too, gives it a very original sound all it's own. It is also fair to say that musically, every note she sings on this track, is absolutely SPOT on and timing wise impeccable. If I had heard this version first I wouldn't be feeling like I was missing out on anything. The backing vocals too are worthy of mention as Essence has nailed these harmonies throughout and the overall effect is brilliant.
Mix wise this sounds very polished. The vocals sit very well in the mix and are very clear although if I was being really picky I'd say the volume of the lead vocal could be nudged up just a little. It's an outstanding vocal performance that should really be given centre stage mix wise. The backing track, which is a third party work, while of course note perfect and professionally played and recorded doesn't have quite the 60's/retro ambience of the Dufffy version but then I'm guessing that was either recorded on 60's equipment or a very sophisticated emulation of it. Anyway, judging this track on it's own merits, it still sounds great.
I am a big fan of Duffy's voice and music. For different reason's I am also a big fan of Essence's voice and music. She is very diverse in her musical tastes and talents. Apart from that she definitely has the looks of a pop star too as anyone who has viewed her page will already know (there is no category in the ratings system for beauty though alas).
Duffy looks all set to be huge in the UK music industry and with any justice, sometime very soon, Essence should be too.
Craig
To listen to the track Click Here