Search - Evelyn Thomas :: Have a Little Faith in Me

Evelyn Thomas, classic and expanded!

Daniel Goss | Skokie, Illinois USA | 07/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After a somewhat rocky start, producer Ian Levine and singer extraordinaire Evelyn Thomas finally found the recipe for success. This, her sophmore release, proves that this is a musical marriage made in disco heaven! Building on the American success garned by her "I Wanna Make It On My Own" release, the super team of Levine & Trench follow it with "Have A Little Faith In Me". The remixed 12" of "No Time To Turn Around", by Rick Giantos helped to push this album's sales upward at a time when "disco" was beginning to wane. In the traditional uptempo sound of the times, this classic album features stellar stand outs like: "My Head's In the Stars" which mixes into "Love's Not Just An Illusion" and the previously mentioned tracks. The real treat here is the BONUS additon of 5 of her earlier tracks. These were only available previously on import 12" singles on the Nightmare Gold label. As one listens to them you can hear the musical evolution of this talented artist. "Weak Spot", her first-ever release, which sold a mere 70,000 copies on a 7" 45rpm, and it's follow up "Doomsday" which sold even less, were both originally released on 20th Century Records and bigger hits in England than in the states. Perhaps because of their "Motown" influenced style? "Sleaze" is the biggest surprise of this disc, this jungle drum infected number could easily be a hit all over again. "Summer On The Beach" and "Love In The First Degree" are strictly dance/pop at it's best. Any one of these cuts SHOULD have catapulted her into major success but didn't, due to small label distribution and promotion and the gluton of similar product available at the time. The original album available on compact disc was worth the price alone, but with the added BONUS tracks it makes this disc priceless! So dust off your platforms, drag out your bell bottoms, buy this disc and GET DOWN!"

I tried to like this one.. i really did...

at0mic0734 | Calgary, AB Canada | 06/14/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Evelyn Thomas, best known for her mid-80s hit "High Energy" (prod. by Ian Levine) also had a couple of disco albums out in the 70s also produced by Ian Levine, an ambitious Englishman who is a very well known figure in Northern Soul circles. In my opinion, Ian Levine has done some good stuff (the title track and the 80s gay disco hit "So Many Men, So Little Time" by Miquel Brown), but more often than not, his output is rather hit and miss, as illustrated on this album.The title track is a catchy light disco track, and one of the bonus tracks "Sleaze" (a mostly instrumental track) stands out in this bunch, with infectious strings and great percussion/horn arrangements. the last track "Love In The First Degree" has a strong melody much like the title track. Unfortunately the rest of the album is quite mediocre. The lyrics, even within pop/disco standards are especially weak. That wouldn't be so bad if they were paired with strong melodies, but they aren't most of the time. The melodies are simple, but not strong...they end up sounding something like bad nursery rhymes or something (esp. "No Time To Turn Around"). Perhaps it's an attempt to try and capture a simple, catchy pop melody, but it ultimately comes across as derivative and grating. They probably just needed some material to make an LP so they did whatever they had to do to fill up the grooves. That pretty much makes the original 4-track LP much like a 12" single with a bunch of filler... The background arrangements have some good percussion, string and horn arrangements, Ms. Thomas has a good voice, but it's not enough to make this a good album.

Another gripe I have is one that I have with many other Hot Productions reissues...They (once again) claim to use original master tapes, yet on a couple of the bonus tracks, it sounds like they've been mastered (albeit pretty badly) from 45 RPM singles... Bottom Line: The title track is a decent disco tune, and it can be found elsewhere. After that, there are maybe 1-2 good tracks, they're good, but not especially great disco tracks, so this one is only recommended for Ian Levine completists.."