Search - Ann Peebles :: Fill This World With Love

One of the greats.

chasmusic | Ottawa, Ontario Canada | 04/30/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, on this cd Ann Peebles sounds great. Her voice has a deeper, more soulful huskiness to it. There are some remakes (Fill this World with Love), and with the addition of Mavis Staple's vocals, it is pure soul confection. The extended medley of some of her best know songs only serves to wet the appetite to pick up the original songs (The best of the Hi years is a good start). Granted some of the songs are short, but she makes up for it by her closing, One Way Street and I'd Rather Leave While I'm in Love. The opening song I'm Yours is rockin R&B at it's best. I do agree the production can be overbearing at times, but any new cd by Ann Peebles is worthy of celebration. I think the theme behind this cd is to bridge the gap between her new material and some of the best songs of Ann's heyday. What I love about the medley is that not only does it showcase her wonderful music, but the spontaneous joy of the musicians, and party atmosphere propel the music. I loved her two duets with Mavis Staples, two gems of female soul together, what more could you ask for. Do yourself a favor, discover or rediscover this fine singer. Here is hoping there will be more music in the future from both Anne and Mavis."

Too little Ann Peebles

Dr.D.Treharne | Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom | 04/23/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It's difficult to know what was going on when this album was recorded. Firstly it's noticeable that on only three of the tracks does Ann Peebles get to sing alone and then the voice is further back in the mix than you would want it to be. The material is extraordinarily variable, and not always executed in the way that you would expect from a Peebles solo outing. Mavis Staples is mixed at least as far forward in the vocal mix on the tracks that she contributes to (Tracks 2 and 4) and husband/co writer Don Bryant is also to the fore on tracks 5 and 15. Tracks 7 thru 14 are a medley remake of some of her classic Hi Record hits that beget the question "Why bother?". In some cases the extracts are really perfunctory, as with the re-reading of "99lbs" and "I pity the fool" ( at 1.21. and 1.35).All in all this very rarely reveals anything of the talent that made her Hi material so indispensible and good to listen to. This album is for completists only, and it's a mystery why it was put together."