Search - Madeline Bell :: Blessed

Madeline Bell Returns

James A. Allio | Oakland, CA USA | 10/12/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Madeline Bell first emerged in the mid-60s as confidant and chief backup singer to Dusty Springfield. At times their voices sounded uncannily alike, and, lifted in harmony, it was hard to figure out who was who. Bell went on to do a couple of solo LPs on which Dusty obligingly sang background, both a melange of uptown soul and show tunes, and had a sizeable hit with "I'm Gonna Make You Love Me," nowadays better known in the chart-topping Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations version. Bell re-surfaced a few years later as the leader of European pop band, Blue Mink, which was very popular internationally for a couple of years before shifting away from the limelight for many years and settling in The Netherlands. She has been doing some performing with a primarily Dutch band and has now returned to recording, with "Blessed" being the second release (the first was a symphonic standards set). Here Bell looks at summertime and sunny feelings from a variety of stances, styles and writers,including The Beach Boys ("God Only Knows," "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and the very apt "Sail on Sailor," recorded by Brian Wilson and company in Holland), the "Rent" soundtrack ("Seasons of Love"), Gershwin's "Home," the perennial "For Once in My Life" (every cabaret singer seems to record this one), and co-writes four of the songs herself with Frits Lundesbergen. Her own compositions show an Island-tinged sensibility that serves this album well, creating a cohesive song cycle about summer love. Bell's voice is as honey smooth and creamy as ever, and her intelligent lyric reading is fully intact. A welcome return."