She may hail from England, but unlike many of her peers, soul singer Lisa Stansfield is not jumping on the latest U.K. dance trend. On her new album, Lisa Stansfield, the bass thumps quaintly along, and the drums are as mellow as tea and biscuits. The heat comes from Stansfield, who belts her heart out in a voice that's smooth and pliant when she's falling in love again ("The Real Thing") but edgy – even harsh – when she's staring, eyes appropriately red-rimmed, at a broken affair ("I'm Leavin'"). So what if Stansfield will always fit more smoothly in a smoky piano bar than in the strobe-lit warehouse of a moody DJ star? Old-fashioned melodrama is where she's at. (RS 766)

NATASHA STOVALL