It seems every record executive these days is looking for a sultry-voiced siren he or she can turn into the next crossover queen. The latest entry is Regina Belle, a twenty-four-year-old New Jersey native who, surprise, grew up idolizing Shirley Caesar, Billie Holiday and the Temptations – which must automatically mean that Belle can belt out a gospel ballad, wrap around a jazz phrase or two and not lose her breath when the tempo speeds up.

Belle can do all that, but what shows most about All by Myself is her age. Although she's on top of and all around her material, she rarely gets underneath it; it's as if she's just discovering the power in her voice and isn't quite sure what to do with it. "After the Love Has Lost Its Shine," for instance, is a calculated gut wrencher in which every line of lyrics is a climax, every note a tour de force. Belle needs to learn when to close the floodgates now that she knows how to open them.

But Belle's youth also makes All by Myself a promising effort; on a few songs, notably the hit single "Show Me the Way," she shows more restraint, and the result is as stunning as it's intended to be. Belle clearly has enough raw material; all she needs now is seasoning. (RS 509)

ROB HOERBURGER