Sardonicus
WHADDA YOU MEAN IT'S NOT IN THE COMPUTER
Judy Cheeks - Reach b/w Can't Get Enough (1994)
UK chart peak - Number 17
Another GOSPEL TINGED trip to the DANCEFLOOR. Considering I also really liked "I Believe" by God-bothering choir Sounds Of Blackness at this time too, I must have INADVERTENTLY gone through a brief PIOUS PHASE in early 1994.
Judy Cheeks (yes that's her real name) was already 40 when this single was released. I'd always lumped her in with the other YOUTHFUL dance divas like CeCe Peniston, but apparently she'd been releasing soul & R&B stuff since the early 70s to LITTLE FANFARE. I've no idea what might have inspired the CHANGE OF DIRECTION or why a few singles like this took off in comparison to the rest of her material, unless she decided to jump on the bandwagon with CeCe & co, & this time struck luckier with producers & songs.
This was Judy's second UK hit after "So In Love (The Real Deal)" in late 1993 & treads similar ground. It's got a more frenetic pace, with its shrieks of "REACH" throughout, typically mid 90s housey piano stabs, & OUR JUDE in fine voice TAKING IT TO CHURCH during the verses (which I actually prefer to the chorus - they're much more SOULFUL). It's a decent little dance tune, but I can also see why it CAME & WENT because it's nothing we haven't heard done before & better. I like it, but I don't LIVE FOR IT. Rather like Degrees Of Motion, the lyrics could also be about LURVE TO GOD or maybe just about some HOT COCK (or BOTH if you're Amy Grant).
B side "Can't Get Enough" is, I imagine, rather more TYPICAL of Judy's prior OUTPUT, it's a slower paced, reflective ballad that's also got a very NOTABLE gospel influence. Again, she sings it JUST FINE & it's not a bad tune but it just doesn't stand out at all. If this is the sort of music Judy Cheeks has put out over the years, I can see why she's never took off & had a true SMASH HIT. She's a passable but ultimately derivative artist on the strength of these 2 songs (but hey, I could be wrong. I've never felt the desire to listen further).
Judy charted a couple of further minor hits, with a remix of "Reach" giving her a final top 30 hit in 1996, although I've no recollection of this re-release. At 71, she appears to still be active & still releasing music, but sadly I think that hoped for BIG BREAKOUT MOMENT ended when "Reach" departed the charts.
UK chart peak - Number 17
Another GOSPEL TINGED trip to the DANCEFLOOR. Considering I also really liked "I Believe" by God-bothering choir Sounds Of Blackness at this time too, I must have INADVERTENTLY gone through a brief PIOUS PHASE in early 1994.
Judy Cheeks (yes that's her real name) was already 40 when this single was released. I'd always lumped her in with the other YOUTHFUL dance divas like CeCe Peniston, but apparently she'd been releasing soul & R&B stuff since the early 70s to LITTLE FANFARE. I've no idea what might have inspired the CHANGE OF DIRECTION or why a few singles like this took off in comparison to the rest of her material, unless she decided to jump on the bandwagon with CeCe & co, & this time struck luckier with producers & songs.
This was Judy's second UK hit after "So In Love (The Real Deal)" in late 1993 & treads similar ground. It's got a more frenetic pace, with its shrieks of "REACH" throughout, typically mid 90s housey piano stabs, & OUR JUDE in fine voice TAKING IT TO CHURCH during the verses (which I actually prefer to the chorus - they're much more SOULFUL). It's a decent little dance tune, but I can also see why it CAME & WENT because it's nothing we haven't heard done before & better. I like it, but I don't LIVE FOR IT. Rather like Degrees Of Motion, the lyrics could also be about LURVE TO GOD or maybe just about some HOT COCK (or BOTH if you're Amy Grant).
B side "Can't Get Enough" is, I imagine, rather more TYPICAL of Judy's prior OUTPUT, it's a slower paced, reflective ballad that's also got a very NOTABLE gospel influence. Again, she sings it JUST FINE & it's not a bad tune but it just doesn't stand out at all. If this is the sort of music Judy Cheeks has put out over the years, I can see why she's never took off & had a true SMASH HIT. She's a passable but ultimately derivative artist on the strength of these 2 songs (but hey, I could be wrong. I've never felt the desire to listen further).
Judy charted a couple of further minor hits, with a remix of "Reach" giving her a final top 30 hit in 1996, although I've no recollection of this re-release. At 71, she appears to still be active & still releasing music, but sadly I think that hoped for BIG BREAKOUT MOMENT ended when "Reach" departed the charts.
Alison Limerick single from the same time, "Make It On My Own". They both belong to a subgenre of upbeat pop/soul/dance fusions at that point, all of which I love (I suspect you could also include the much maligned Kenny Thomas under this UMBRELLA too). It's catchy, perky, summery as hell, so in the first of many DUMBASS record company decisions involving Don-E, they released it in May instead. What they SHOULD have done is released the more CHILLED follow-up, "Peace In The World" first as a TASTER, then gone for the obvious summer hit with this in July. I can easily see it slotting into the top 10 that summer with the likes of "The Best Things In Life Are Free". Sometimes I think I've missed my VOCATION & should be working in record company marketing & A&R.
