Singer Jody Watley reboots her now-classic album, The Makeover – to exquisite effect! The new album is an update – re-sequenced with several new additions, and some remixed or remade originals. The album is newly packaged with gorgeous cover art photography by Mike Ruiz.

Last time, Watley created a uniquely sublime dance album that was – at once – vintage and vanguard; she reinterpreted classics by Chic, Bob Marley and Madonna, while also re-imagining several of her own hits. For The Makeover (U.K./Int'l), Jody  Watley improves her already superb musical aesthetic – this time enriching the newly created musical opus with the sounds of electro, bossa nova and atmospheric soul. Watley reinterprets Erasure's synthpop classic, "A Little Respect", showcasing both her upper and lower vocal register, while also imbuing the Clarke/Bell staple with a uniquely feminist perspective. And the aforementioned Bob Marley's timeless "Waiting in Vain" is given a Brazilian jazz ambiance.

But it is the album-closer – the Gerry Goffin and Carole King penned "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" – that stands as the album's most poignant moment. Arranged in the vein of the Roberta Flack version, Watley emotes atop a singularly sad, yet romantic piano accompaniment – transporting the listener to a place and time when (and where) the sensual "slow burn" is still king (or queen).

The Makeover - Int'l/U.K. is available at Amazon.

Categories: Jody Watley