From
Mark Murphy and
Eddie Jefferson to
Lorez Alexandria, most of the singers that Muse recorded were hardcore jazz vocalists. But there's no getting around the fact that
Morgana King's
I Just Can't Stop Loving You is a pop release, first and foremost. Not for jazz snobs, this CD must be judged by pop standards instead of jazz standards -- and when you do that, it becomes clear that
King has delivered a pleasant and enjoyable, if less than spectacular, adult contemporary oriented collection. This isn't to say that the disc is devoid of jazz -- "How About You" and "They All Laughed" are essentially jazz, but those tracks are the exception instead of the rule.
King, who was in her early sixties when the album was recorded, favors a pure pop approach on material that ranges from
Michel Legrand's "Summer Me, Winter Me" and
the Cars' "Drive" to no less than three
Michael Jackson hits: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "The Lady in My Life," and "Human Nature." Muse generally did well by
King in the '80s and '90s, and
I Just Can't Stop Loving You is no exception. ~ Alex Henderson