Deborah Cox Albums (5)
What The Critics Say
Artist tributes are tricky pieces of work. Most of the time, they aren't recorded by the biggest names of the moment, and they're usually sub-par. Instead of putting out an album of new music after a five-year hiatus, and twelve years into her career, Canadian R&B diva Deborah Cox released Destination Moon, a tribute to jazz legend Dinah Washington. Cox refers to this album as a personal tribute to her legend growing up. Frankly, she does justice to the works, which make for a strong representation of Washington's hits over her far too brief career. Cox's voice, in all its purity, has never sounded better, with the honey tones in her raspy instrument flourishing throughout the album's big moments. Unfortunately, the album is full of awkward missteps that steer this work off course: Cox doesn't always connect with the songs. Many of the tracks seem robotic; Cox sings them well, but doesn't emote to the best of her ability, something that has always been a flaw of hers in the past. Therefore, Moon appears to be more of a lifetime biopic of Dinah Washington's musical career than a genuine blockbuster. For an artist like Washington, who has garnered much respect even to this day for her creativeness and emotional capacity, Cox suffers in both attributes. Considering Moon is supposed to be a tribute, as such it seems flat. In addition, the timing of the album seems like an odd choice for Cox; there is a five-year gap between this album and The Morning After (excluding Remixed, a collection of dance re-recordings), but this may be because of her label shift from J-Records to Decca. And because she has stayed out of the limelight for some time, jumping back into the music scene with a tribute doesn't seem like the smartest move on her part. In addition, Cox is an R&B diva who is known for her dance tracks and smooth grooves. Jazz seems awkward for the Canadian superstar, who handles the shift well vocally, but seems to have missed the mark in most other places. Ultimately, the album is too indulgent on Cox's part, and in order for the whole piece to be credible, especially for Cox, whose popularity has slowly faded since her newest album, she needed to nail every part of the album, not just the vocals. ~ Matthew Chisling, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Arista set out to make a huge star of Deborah Cox. Her first album scored a couple of moderate hits, but with her second they were poised to turn the burgeoning belter into a new Whitney Houston. That didn't quite happen, but the set did make her into a considerable star, thanks in part to her monster cross-format smash "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here." An interesting thing happened the year before this album's release. Cox recorded a song for the Money Talks soundtrack, "Things Just Ain't the Same." The song was not a big hit initially, but a dance mix picked up steam in clubs across the U.S., and after several months turned into a huge dance smash, which in turn opened the singer to a whole new audience almost unexpectedly. Therefore, the first official single from One Wish, "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," was released as an R&B ballad to urban radio stations, and as a revved-up club anthem to pop stations and club DJs. The song was a smash, spending countless weeks atop the R&B charts and eight weeks at number two on the U.S. pop charts, cementing the singer's newfound broad appeal. That feat wasn't repeated, although the album scored another Top Ten pop hit with dramatic ballad "We Can't Be Friends," a duet with labelmate R.L. of the group Next. The album's musical spectrum was varied, ranging from the typical cheating man song popular at the time (the second single, "It's Over Now," which, in a remixed version, topped the dance charts), to safe middle-of-the-road, adult contemporary fare ("Couldn't We" and the beautiful "One Day You Will"), funky R&B tunes (one of the set's highlights, "One Wish"), and club anthems, including the dance mix of "Things Just Ain't the Same." Cox's voice, a powerhouse unto itself, sounds just as effective and very sweet when she's not belting out a tune Whitney Houston-style (evident on "I Won't Give Up"). The album also includes a bonus track, which is a hip-hop mix of the set's mid-tempo opener "September." A good album, which includes a couple of quintessential 1990s dance hits, and a prime example of Arista's incomparable marketing savvy. ~ Jose Promis, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, Deborah Cox straddles the line between soul and pop, appealing to adult contemporary and R&B fans in equal measures. She is a confident and stylish singer, but her self-titled debut is helped by considerably by the powerhouse producers work behind the scenes. Featuring tracks produced by Babyface, Dallas Austin, and Daryl Simmons among others, the record is filled with immaculately crafted dance-pop and ballads. Not all of the songs are up to the production standards, however. Like many singers in her genre, Deborah Cox is only as good as her material, and the songs on their debut are uneven. She shines on the hit "Sentimental" and several other cuts, including "Never Gonna Break My Heart Again" and the poppy "Who Do U Love," but nearly half of the record consists of undistinguished material. Nevertheless, the best songs on the album suggests that Cox has the potential to develop into a star. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
