Tanita Tikaram - Everybody's Angel (1991)

Album number three for Tikaram finds her working with the same core of musicians as her first two releases. However, instead of exhibiting diminishing returns like some Hollywood sequel, Everybody's Angel is her most interesting work to date. It might be partly due to Tikaram aiding in the production. There seems to be more of a focus and maturity in the melodies and her performance seems more impassioned. The record also is given some kick by the extensive use of horns, including Mark Isham. It's easy to imagine that songs like "Deliver Me" and "This Stranger" are actually Van Morrison covers. Rod Argent's organ playing adds some muscle to "Mud in Water" and "Never Known" is a nifty reggae-inflected number. There's a jauntiness to songs like the shuffling "Hot Pork Sandwiches" that is infectious. Tikaram's voice, always the focal point, never disappoints and is simply gorgeous on the lovely opening track, " Only the Ones We Love."