Riki Michele

Item: One Moment Please
Author: Neil Clopton

One Moment Please

(1993)

Reviewed by Neil Clopton

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Label WALThe LighthouseJanuary 1994

adult contemporary jazz pop

At Cornerstone 93, I had a chance to talk to Riki Michele briefly. I asked her why she didn't sing more with Adam Again, the band she is in with her husband, Gene Eugene. She said "Adam Again is Gene's gig," as if it didn't matter. I took the opportunity to tell her that to me it did matter, because I liked her singing so much.

Her first solo effort was 1989's Big Big Town and now One Moment Please is out. While similar to Big Big Town stylistically, it is a bit more mature, benefits from better production, and is overall more coherent and well constructed.

What does it sound like? Well, it has too strong of a ballad and pop presence to be a rock record. It isn't really a "singer/songwriter" album either. It lies in that land of adult pop where good song writing and delivery leave genre by the wayside. This gives Michele freedom to do each song justice regardless of style. One minute it's jazzy pop, then it turns edgy and funky and rocks a little, then there is nothing but Michele's haunting voice, and a piano.

Neither of Michele's solo records are definitively alternative, nor do they sound like Adam Again. Big Big Town showed off Riki Michele's voice and the song writing of Gene Eugene, Terry Taylor, and Steve Hindalong. Riki Michele did more of her own writing for One Moment Please but Taylor, Eugene, Mike Roe, Randy Stonehill, and Rob Watson contribute. The jazzy, easy going, sometimes minimal feel is still there, as is the unmistakable presence of Michele's breathy voice. She is expressive in such a passive, yet effective, way. She never sounds like she is working hard. Instead, the full spectrum of words, emotions, and ideas that she is communicating just flow out from her.

Under Terry Taylor's direction, One Moment Please is more heavily produced than its predecessor, but not overproduced.

Some people may also find the airy quality in Michele's voice droning. As good as this record is, it isn't for everybody. But, if you were wondering what Big Big Town would have sounded like with Michele a few years wiser, this is for you.