Released: September 29
As she embraces a new era in her personal life, British soul sensation Beverley Knight makes a bold career move and returns to pop with a spectacular new sound.
Her first original LP in over a decade, ‘The Fifth Chapter’ sees the vocalist celebrate turning 50 by partnering with a wealth of songwriting talent including Diane Warren, Seb Coe, Ollie Green and Andrew Roachford for her most captivating material in years.
Of the album that covers a “kaleidoscope of influences from disco, R&B, funk, gospel through to northern soul and big ballades”, Beverley says: “Maintaining a dual career in acting meant that for the first time I stepped back from my usual songwriting to allow some of the world’s greatest songwriters to scribe my thoughts. This album is a true team effort of incredible talents.”
Launching with its lead single, Last One On My Mind is a fierce disco anthem that brings the singer-turned-stage star back to the fore and proves that, more than 25 years since her chart debut, she remains hot property.
The One I’m Gonna Love is a fierce slice of funk-influenced R&B, while pre-release track Systematic Overload is somewhere between Nile Rodgers and Prince, with a massive singalong chorus that’s instantly iconic.
Featured on three tracks are the London Community Gospel Choir, who elevate moments like the building gospel epic Cold World, playful I’m On Fire and massive disco anthem Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, featuring Mark Knight on production duties.
But across 11 tracks, Beverley proves she can absolutely hold her own; take the opening belt of Someone Else’s Problem, a move few would be brave enough to attempt, nevermind task themselves to follow-up over the remaining three-minutes of the track. Meanwhile, the electro-pop showcase that is Queen Of Everything – a feelgood offering that wouldn’t sound out of place on the soundtrack to Ryan Murphy’s ‘Pose’ and is almost guaranteed a lip sync spot on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ – shows she knows how to have a good time without relying on the vocal acrobatics she’s best known for.
On Nostalgia, she leans into the sound of her 2004 hit LP ‘Affirmation’ – more current than some of the classic styles on the record, but a slice of her own pop history that sounds as fresh today as it did back then.
After a decade focussing on soul and stage projects, Beverley’s latest offering plants her firmly back in the commercial lane and is unquestionably her strongest release since 2002’s seminal ‘Who I Am’. A superb return.
