Vanessa Williams

Vanessa Williams’ recent release, Everlasting Love, is a trip down memory lane in a brand-new car, and it features some songs that hold up better than others. Williams’ smooth voice is more than adequate for familiar ground such as “One Less Bell to Answer” and the great Al Wilson’s “Show and Tell,” but her cover of “Never Can Say Goodbye,” which features an intense George Benson guitar solo, is one of the better examples of rejuvenating a classic. Williams’ voice carries a depth of emotion that a pre-adolescent Michael Jackson just couldn’t manage, and this updated arrangement is far more danceable. And although I could live without another rendition of “With You I’m Born Again” (a duet with Benson), her new version of the Stylistics’ classic “You Are Everything” is both sweet and sultry.