Published on Nov 5, 1998
Pity poor Taylor Dayne. Back in the late 1980s, she had the diva
market almost completely to herself. Songs like “Tell It To My
Heart” and “With Every Beat Of My Heart” won over fans with their
danceable rhythms, and for a time, it seemed like Dayne would be
the name to remember. Then, Mariah Carey came along, and the rest
was history.
These days, Dayne might seem like a name from the past. But on
her latest release
Naked Without You, she proves that she still has the power
to deliver a great song, even if she still holds onto the dance mix
idea, something I think she should let go of.
Admittedly, it takes some time to get used to Dayne’s style of
singing. Part torch singer, part Patti LaBelle, her vocal style is
uniquely her own. Tracks like “Whenever You Fall” highlight the
special nuances of her singing, while others like “Don’t Make Me
Love You” aren’t the best vehicles for her.
I also detected a hidden dance beat in “Don’t Make Me Love You”
– but not to worry, ’cause the dance mix hits full time on songs
like “Stand”. With all due respect to Dayne, I would give up the
dream of regaining the disco diva throne; frankly, songs like those
don’t demonstrate the true power of her voice.
Instead, songs like the title track, “Whatever You Want,” “There
Is No Heart That Won’t Heal” and “Whenever You Fall” are proof
positive that fans of adult contemporary – hell, even Top 40 – have
been missing out on a lot of great work since all but abandoning
Dayne in the first half of the ’90s. Dayne has spent this time
honing her craft, and she shows on tracks like these that the
effort has been well worth it. (The question, of course, is whether
or not radio will have the courage to pick up on one or two of
these – and I have no knowledge of whether one of these tracks has
been pushed by River North as a single. If it were up to me, I’d
push “Whenever You Fall”, and market it as a song with incredible
A/C potential. Just a little free marketing advice from yours
truly.)
Although I was only casually familiar with Dayne’s earlier work,
I found myself listening to
Naked Without You several times to make sure that this was
indeed the same artist. It was also because some of the material on
this album is that strong and addictive; like the potato chip
commercial, you can’t just listen to this one once. (Oh, please
don’t sue…)
Of course, if you’re a fan of dance music, you’ll disagree with
me when I say that the songs that have the obvious dance flavors
and beats are the weak links in the chain here. Also, I have to
admit that Dayne’s choice of “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” as
the oldie to resurrect is a curious one, and I’m not completely
convinced that her version captured something new.
Enough with the rhetoric; is
Naked Without You a decent album? Yes; without question,
Dayne shows often not only the skills that made her a star in the
late ’80s but that she has had them all along, even when the market
forgot about her. If she can put the dance music of her past out to
pasture, I believe she will find new life in the adult contemporary
market – that is, if there’s any justice in this business.