Phyllis Nelson
Having become something of a hit in Europe and Australia, the Philadelphia-raised Nelson, 33. has brought her act home. The title track has already become a big dance hit here, though its lyrics are not exactly Nobel Prize caliber "I like you/I like you a lot/Yes, I like you/I like you/I like you a lot/Yes, I like you." But that track and another seductive (though slower) dance tune. Move Closer, demonstrate what seems to be Nelson's best talent: she found a very sharp producer in Frenchman Yves Dessca. While Nelson's voice sounds routine Dessca has surrounded her with charged up arrangements (,by Dessca and Benny Knauer) that bolster her with catchy synthesizer riffs and rhythms, and decorative backup vocals. He has also chosen a varied assortment of songs, none of which provides, toe much of a stylistic challenge for Nelson. Most notable are a reggae-flavored Andy Hill Peter Sinfield tune. Land of Make Believe, and the endearingly sappy Jack Robinson-James Boiden song Then Came You. On the latter tune especially. Nelson occasionally bears a faint, warbly resemblance to Dionne Warwick. This is one of those greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts albums What might happen to Nelson if she came out from under Dessca's wing a little more remains to be seen. (Carrere/CBS)
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