Donna Lewis - In The Pink

For better and worse, Donna Lewis will always be remembered as the woman who gave the world "I Love You Always Forever", a song that took the world by storm in 1996, reaching #1 in the US and going Top 5 across Europe.

I've always liked the song and have remained interested in Donna's career long after the rest of the world, in infinite fickledom, moved on. Outside of a brief return to the pop charts a year later, via the ballad "At The Beginning" with Richard Marx (for the brilliant, yet underrated film Anastasia), her career has been relatively low-profile. Her second album, Blue Planet, while a more solid effort than her debut, failed to maintain the momentum and would lead to her exit from the Atlantic Records' roster.

2002 brought the low-key, internet-only release of her third effort, Be Still. Thankfully, she has taken a more proactive role in promoting her latest album, In The Pink (which actually includes re-worked versions of two of the better cuts from Be Still; "Ireland" and "Pink Dress") and, thus, I feel compelled to also tell the world about how great a record this is.

For anyone who liked "I Love You Always Forever", you will find a lot to like here. For those who don't, there is also a lot to like. Donna finally reveals herself as the multi-faceted artist her first two records only hinted at.

"Ireland", for example, is ethereal, pulsating with an understated elegance that begs the question: "Why couldn't radio play music like this?" "Pink Dress" announces itself with a distorted guitar riff (no, seriously) and lyrics that paint vivid pictures of the bliss of being dressed-to-the-nines and taking absolute joy in the realization that, for that moment, we are as beautiful as we've ever been.

Lewis's self-assured, almost-whispered vocal delivery embues each song with a warmth and charm that is undeniable. On "Shout", she delivers the album's delicious hook in beautifully understated fashion, singing "I want to shout it out/I want to laugh out loud". The song itself seems to exist in a self-made universe where things really are that simple.

The album's real stand-out, for me at least, is "Don't Ever", a song that spells it all out so brilliantly:

don't ever turn your back on all your dreams
don't ever loose the hunger
don't ever change your patience and your pain
that would'nt be you without me

don't ever be still
be reckless evermore
don't stay up all night without me
don't overdo the suffering in vain
don't ever dance in fountains without me

and i'm laying
on your shoulder
and the need is love

and it's you
I talk to all night
and it's you
laughing out loud at me
you
holding me up to the moon
and I love you enough that it's true
I won't ever be without you

don't ever forget all about the words
don't ever stop believing
don't ever rest without me in your place
don't ever grow old without me

and I'm needing your shoulder
to cry my last tear

and it's you
I talk to all night
and it's you
laughing out loud at me
you
holding up to the moon
and i love you enough
that it's true
I won't ever be without you
laughing out loud at me
you
Holding me up to the moon

Donna Lewis triumphs over all that is wrong in the world, creating a musical world that is filled with possibilities, love with no strings attached, and smiles from the heart. For anyone who needs to be reminded of who you were before the world got to you, this is your album.

Buy It Now!