Silky-voiced crooner
Richie Stephens has shaped an impressive career around covering R&B hits and adding a reggae twist.
Perfect Love continues this pattern; the disc holds six remakes out of the album's 16 tunes. Boasting a wonderful range and tangible warmth in his vocals,
Stephens pulls off even unlikely selections such as Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual," to which he adds a peppy spin. Ballads such as
Luther Vandross' "Nothing Better Than Love" and
Tony Rich's "Nobody Knows" are given good interpretations, perked up by a little drum and bass but the standout is the much covered '70s classic "If Loving You Is Wrong," which
Stephens sings with full-on passion. The originals on
Perfect Love are good too, but it's the new take on old standbys that prove to be the album's winning formula. ~ Rosalind Cummings-Yeates