A much celebrated and vaulted artist within soul circles for his “Heaven In The Afternoon” track, Lew Kirton remains a quality singer and performer to this day, and his recent 2005 set, “Forever” also provided us with some tasty moments. 1983 saw the release of “Talk To Me” on Epic subsidiary label, “Believe In A Dream” - the label also responsible for Tyrone Brunson and The Reddings! Lew Kirton was definitely a positive addition to the label and of the 8 tracks on this LP, I regularly play 6 of them. Lew, along with Russell Timmons, Jr and Barry J. Eastmond created a sublime set of mainly ballad and mid tempo grooves. An Al McKay type guitar rhythm greats us on the title track – a great little starter – and the strings add volume. The summery cut”I Can't Live Without You” would be a perfect vehicle for L.J. Reynolds, and Lew's gentler tones handle it perfectly.
“Don't Give Up On Your Dream (Hang On In There)” adds a more contemporary synthetic dance sound, although the soul is very much in control. Lew's voice contains complete court. My favourite track, “Just Can't Get Enough” reminds me of what Luther was up to at the time. The piano, keys and strings don't dispute this either. The more traditional outing here is the GORGEOUS “Hooked On You”. The strings and real instruments hit you like a wall of sound. Lew almost sounds like Louis Johnson in places, and the Philly sounding guitar makes this even more special. My final choice is the unabashed up tempo “Here's My Love (Come And Get It)” This sounds great on CD, too, courtesy of P-Vine records. Taken from master tape the album is a must have if you can track it down on CD. Highly recommended 80s soul.
Barry Towler,
The Vibe Scribe
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