Released: February 26
Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)… Faith (In The Power Of Love)… Are You Ready To Fly…
It’s been over 30 years since Rozalla began her chart domination with a string of dance classics that went on to become ‘90s club staples and helped the Zambian-born singer become one of the most recognisable voices of the genre and the decade.
Now, she’s back with her long-awaited comeback LP, ‘Turn On The Light’; a euphoric return to form that sees the singer in fine voice on a selection of standout originals and hand-selected cover versions that radiate energy and sound effortlessly current.
It’s something of a new beginning, more than 25 years since Rozalla’s last dance album, but on the opening song and title track, she takes a moment to nod to the past: ‘Makes all the bad things seem like a memory / As the people sing Everybody’s Free’.
Singles Magnificent and I Feel It Slippin’ Away are built for the dance floor, while a remixed Say It Again could easily have been a 2000s pop smash. Lovefool fuses disco sensibilities with pulsing electronics, for a sound present across several of the album’s covers.
A Chic-influenced rendition of Odyssey’s Inside Out is an instant highlight and a breath of fresh air into the set, while Change’s Let’s Go Together is instantly timeless and Nicolette Larson’s Neil Young-penned Lotta Love is slick and heavy with lush harmonies.
On the flip side, a full-throttle take on JK’s ‘90s club hit You & I is instantly evocative of Rozalla’s classics from the era and wouldn’t sound out of place on any of her early albums.
There is, however, a change in pace on the more tender moments, with tracks such as Player’s Baby Come Back, Natalie Cole’s Someone That I Used To Love, and the original I Want You Back showcasing her smooth vocals and emotive ability to bring the lyric to life.
Three decades into her career, Rozalla could quite easily kick back and live on her ‘90s legacy, but ‘Turn On The Light’ is a revelation; not only is she in top form vocally, but from the song selections to impeccable production, time stops as soon as she sings and, for one glorious hour, everybody really is free to feel good again!
