Storyteller (CD) by Crystal Waters

Background vocals: Audrey Wheeler, Kenny Hicks, Adrianne McDonald, Antoinette Roberson, Katrice Barnes, Novelair Thomas.

All songs co-written by Crystal Waters. Samples include "Stoned Soul Picnic" (as performed by The 5th Dimension) and "The Flavor Unit" (as performed by The Flavor Unit Assassination Squad).

In an era of woah-woah soundalikes and soft-core humpathons, the quirky, defiantly personal sound of new jack diva Crystal Waters is a blessed relief. STORYTELLER is sexy, bumptious, edgy R&B, that addresses real world issues as well as romantic visions, and refuses to pander to contemporary trends by coming on smarmier than thou.

STORYTELLER is a varied, stimulating program of high tech, uptown sounds, animated by Waters' little-girlish, sing-songy delivery and cunning pop sensibility. Devotional love songs such as "100% Pure Love" and "Relax" are driven along by a powerful bottom end that echoes early Latin disco grooves. And while "Daddy Do" employs a similar groove, the mood is not celebratory but ironic: the tale of an abused woman who has taken all the battering she can.

"Regardless" is a guileless good-timey romp with a modern sheen: its venerable sentiment harkens back to the relative innocence of soul music up through Motown. "I Believe I Love You" combines contemporary street scratches with gospelish keyboards and Southern soul guitar, while "Is It For Me" originates a swinging jazzhop groove, as baby hangs by the phone waiting for a callback from a slick, no-soul loverboy. But it's the stunning long goodbye of the title tune, with its tale of faded romance, and the "torn between two lovers" tension of "Lover Lay Low" that'll keep you coming back for more.