This Valentine's Day, music once again will be one of the key ingredients for a romantic evening. Sade, Lisa Stansfield and Luther Vandross remain favorites to set the mood, but there are plenty of alternatives to these as well as the overplayed sappy love songs from am radio.
My Funny Valentine has been redone by many including Eartha Kitt, Joshua Klipp, Rufus Wainwright and Michelle Pfeiffer for the film The Fabulous Baker Boys. But Chaka Khan makes it her own with her rendition heard on the soundtrack to Waiting to Exhale. As Khan belts out stay, the object of her affection best heed her call. No wonder this version also appears on the compilation Ultimate Divas. The Through the Fire vocal powerhouse has taken on more standards with 2004's ClassiKhan and then got back to her roots with last year's Funk This. Currently, Khan is cast in Broadway's The Color Purple as Sofia, the role Oprah made famous in Steven Spielberg's film.
kd lang reassures the broken-hearted on the mid-tempo Only Love, pulled from 2000's overlooked Invincible Summer. Here, the out Grammy winner attests how 'only love brings you back around' with a certain warm glow to her voice. This is sage advice, but lang returns to the broken hearts club with her brand-new album, Watershed.
Nowadays, it is a major marketing ploy to use a song to embellish a scene in a television program. Over 15 years ago, 90210 flawlessly incorporated R.E.M.'s You Are the Everything into the teen drama's storyline. Doubt curses Michael Stipe, but he remains hopeful knowing that 'for you alone, you are the everything.' While this track does not appear on the Athens band's recent set R.E.M. Live, it can be found on the pop crossover Green. R.E.M. will be back this spring with the new album Accelerate.
Owing to the perfect pairing of Hope Sandoval's light coffee house brewed voice, the subtle piano and unmistakably cool guitar, Mazzy Star's Fade into You is instantly recognizable. Then there is the captivating opening lines 'I want to hold the hand inside you / I want to take a breath that's true.' This Mazzy Star hit still strikes a chord with many, it is not surprise Fade into You has been licensed to commercials and TV shows, including Desperate Housewives and Alias. Mazzy Star has since broken up, but Sandoval has gone on to collaborate with electronic acts Air, The Chemical Brothers and Death in Vegas.
On 2004's Wilderness, Sophie B. Hawkins gets a touch of the blues. The standout number sweetsexywoman has the singer-songwriter coming across as mature, passionately losing herself with anticipation. On her live album Bad Kitty Board Mix, Hawkins humors the crowd before dedicating sweetsexywoman to an audience member who is not yet over 45, since she normally reserves this one for those more into their prime. The multi-talented artist is working on a musical on top of a new album.
RuPaul can get any crowd moving with Back to My Roots and Snapshot, but the supermodel of the world shows his softer side on Supernatural. Once the bpm go down, the heart rates go up, while RuPaul flirtatiously recounts what makes his temperature rise. RuPaul may be queen of the clubs, but versatility never has been so suggestive.
The British outfit M People steps off the dance floor to make room for the choir on Just for You. Favoring an acoustic guitar over the usual high-energy beats, this declaration has Heather Small proclaiming feats she would do for love. A sizeable hit overseas, Just for You is the lead single from 1997's import Fresco. It has since surfaced on multiple M People retrospectives, including Ultimate Collection, which also contains Small's anthem Proud.
The Waterlillies let love blossom on the orchestral power ballad Take My Breath Away, which is not to be confused with the pieces of the same name by Berlin or Emma 'Baby Spice' Bunton. The Waterlillies may be best known for the dance hits Never Enough and Tempted, but Take My Breath Away is a refreshing change of pace, serving as one of the highlights from the 1994 album Tempted. The duo's lead singer, Sandra Jill Alikas-St. Thomas, gives stage veterans Sarah Brightman and Linda Eder a run for their money here as she leads the song to its crescendo—not to mention that she wrote and produced the track, too.
A dedicated love knows no distance, as sung on Cole Porter's classic So in Love. This favorite from Kiss Me Kate is nailed by Mario Frangoulis and Lara Fabian for the biopic De-Lovely. Frangoulis's voice is so rich coupled with Canadian diva Fabian on this duet. The usually coy Porter is tamed, even forthright here.
Sultry New York siren Vanessa Daou has too many numbers that suit the atmosphere for a romantic night. Whether it is something with a smooth jazz vibe from Two to Tango; the works of Erica Jong set to a groove on her solo debut, Zipless; or the poetic temptation from her most recent outing Make You Love, this woman puts sexiness into everything she sings. Daou uses her cooing voice to buoy on the rhythm on numbers like Dear Anne Sexton and Cross That Bridge. A much-awaited new album is expected later this year per Daou's MySpace page.
