Search - Cherrelle :: Best of

A Forgotten Talent Worthy of Rediscovery

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 01/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Culled from Cherelle's three Tabu releases ("Fragile", "High Priority" and "Affair", respectively), "The Best of..." lives up to its title. While the singer never attained the status of her 80's contemporaries, she still, with the masterful production team of Jam & Lewis, did make some good music. Chief among these are her outstanding pairing with label-mate Alexander O'Neal, another underrated singer. Their "Saturday Love" is an R & B classic. Her "Didn't Mean to Turn You On" has been covered by Robert Palmer AND a note-by-note turn by Mariah Carey. Both cannot compare to the original. "Everything I Miss At Home" is another highlight in a standout collection. I cannot recommend this one high enough."

A very underrated performer who deserved more success!

guillermoj | Washington, DC United States | 11/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD, which is very hard to find, but worth every penny, comes from her 3 releases ("Fragile", "High Priority" and "Affair") on Taboo Records. For those want want even more Cherrelle will be happy to know that "High Priority" has been reissued and remastered. Unfortunately, Cherrelle's "Best Of" has simply disappeared from almost every CD retailer, BUT you can still find it at a reasonable price in some places. If you need guidance, just ask me.Back to this release, which more than does the job. As some others have mentioned, Cherrelle never reached the stardom of some her 80's contemporaries. This is too bad as she has great pipes for both ballads and the hard stuff and made some great music with the great Jimmy Jam and Tery Lewis. My guess is that she was not backed by a big company and that she was not as "media ready" as Janet Jackson, Jody Watley, or even lesser talents like Paula Abdul. This is not a dig at Paula as I enjoyed her musical "styling" and enjoyed many of her songs.She and label mate, Alexander O'Neal (who did break through for a massive seller with his masterful "Hearsay" release) made some great music as exemplified by "Saturday Love". But here you can also find the classic "Affair" (which is also blessed with Alexander O'Neal) the greatest rendition of "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On", and the soulful "Everything I Miss At Home".If you are not familiar with Cherrelle, you should give her a shot. Most of the musical arragements/production proudly show its 1980's Minneapolis roots, but it is not a deterrent for me as Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis brought their distinctive touch to Cherrelle, and if you hear this release carefully you can see that Janet's "Control" release was their next progression with this sound.I give this release 4 stars because it includes a handful of are true classics that are a MUST for any r & b fan. The CD's last three songs are nothing out of this world, so I won't give it a 5, but it is still more enjoyable than other 5 star releases that I have as the good songs are better than chocolate. Enjoy."

RAW TALENT!!

A. R SCOTT | Houston, Texas | 06/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"CHERELLE'S VOICE WAS SO WONDERFUL AND VERY RARE AND WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO BE REPLACED IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY SONG SHE SINGS BECOMES AN INSTANT HIT I LOVED EVERY SONG HER AND ALEXANDER O'NEIL HAD SUNG TOGETHER THEY DONE SOME PRETTY GOOD SONGS AND SING VERY WELL TOGETHER EVERY SONG ON THIS ALBUM IS GOOD AND I WOULD TRULY RECOMMEND THAT YOU PURCHASE IT ALSO AND I WILL ALSO RECEOMMEND THE BEST OF ALEXANDER O'NEIL ALSO !!!"