Aajaanne (http://www.aajaanne.com) won me over by the fourth track. Everybody has a guilty pleasure from the past, especially the '80s. For me, the Jets' "You Got It All" was one of them, a prom-night ballad that rock & rollers such as myself wasn't supposed to dig. 1986 was a strange time for pop, divided between the most artificial (yet undeniably catchy) commercial fluff you'll ever find and the best cutting-edge records ever to hit the indie shops. Somehow, the Jets slipped through the cracks in the nostalgia department, and Aajaanne woke me up with a bolt of high-school recollection. And, hey, she does a cover of "You Got It All" so heartbroken and innocent that it makes me want to cry in my Orange Julius again twenty years later.
Ironically, Aajaanne probably wasn't even born yet when the Jets climbed the charts stateside. Like most R&B records from young female artists, it's the producers who call the shots, and co-producers AJSR and Arvell Keithley do a fine job of finding the right material for Aajaanne. Nothing stretches her beyond her range, not even a version of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." Under a less talented vocalist, that could've been a disaster; however, Aajanne has the self-confidence and depth to pull it off.
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Combining upbeat tracks with slower numbers, Aajaanne is in complete control. Her tender version of Brian McKnight's "Never Felt This Way" is a sweet lullabye while the first mix of the title track percolates with enough '80s-styled synths to resurrect a Paisley Park reunion. Expect nothing less than a fun, entertaining CD.
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