I bet you're sat there thinking that this doddery old goat has finally lost the plot? Well, in some respects that's perfectly true but as far as the old choonage goes strap yourself in and get ready for one hell of an album crammed with Jam & Lewis magic. Pia - a big star as you know - was dying to work with the Flyte Tyme gang and so commissioned them to work on this album for her. What they produced is nothing short of 80s soul heaven BUT Pia was not at all impressed and requested that the album be scrapped. So, in America, this was the case. However the album was afforded a UK release and thank God for it. If you love the best material of Cherelle, Alexander O'Neal and the SOS Band, then this album is a real must-have. One side of the album was as dodgy as hell with some questionable dance material, but the second side...well, that's a different matter entirely.I get a feeling every time I hear this that Jam and Lewis were creating something they really and truly loved. I think this album rates as some of their best ever ballad works. Starting with the goosebump-making "Pia's Interlude" - a very short but sweet intro to the delicious and uber-quiet storm cut, "I Really Like You, Not Him". This is serious soul heaven and I defy and doubters to listen to this and not be swept up and away by it. The track ends in such a haunting and "wow!" fashion that today I have to sit here with eyes closed, soaking it all in. Beautiful. If I have to close my eyes to a song then I know it's something really special. It doesn't end here though. "Silence" is amazing and would, in hindsight, have benefited from the use of real - and not synth - strings. Dreamy and atmospheric is all I can say about this. "Since I've Been Loving You" is as good as any Cherelle ballad from the time, and the KILLER "Pia's Theme" is a longer version of the intro and based on "Silence". Instrumental and haunting, this song will blow you away. This acts as a prelude to a really spine-tingling track called "It's Always The Same". My God! 21 years on and I am reduced to a gibbering wreck at the sheer beauty of this song. Please cast doubts aside and grab a hold of this - especially on CD if you can find it. Lovers of Jam and Lewis' quiet storm cuts need to own this.
