Gabrielle - Rise

There has always been a disconnection between the musical tastes of the U.S. and the U.K. A case in point is the career of R&B/pop singer Gabrielle, whose third CD, Rise, came out in the fall of 1999 in her native England and is finally available stateside. Cognoscenti of the U.K. brand of R&B (which on the whole tends to be less formulaic than its American counterpart) might remember that Gabrielle scored in the mid-'90s with the infectious club track "Dreams." Yet, despite that international chart topper and her smoky voice, her lovely 1996 self-titled album failed to make any noise in the U.S. Although it's not as satisfying as Gabrielle, Rise is a solid soulful effort. Once again, Gabrielle's semi-self help lyrics are married to state-of-the-art (but not obvious) beats: the title track uses the melody line from Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," while the pulsating "5 O'clock" employs a bouncy Latin-tinged rhythm that conjures up Big Pun's "Still Not A Player." There's an airy, buoyant quality to the tracks and an almost wistful vibe that's totally modern yet has a strong loyalty to the legacy of soul when songs and singers mattered. Groundbreaking? Certainly not, but Rise is a refreshing antidote to R&B by the numbers--and proof that America doesn't have the patent on soul. --Amy Linden