YOLANDA Quartey has a one-in-a-generation voice and her overwhelming presence lifts Phantom Limb from an OK country/R&B band to one of importance.
She does tender, grit and hollering with equal aplomb, nowhere better than Give Me a Reason and the title track. Then there is Missy and Harder than Stone; both pure Staples singers; either would sorely test a lesser singer.
That said much of the material doesn’t do justice to Quartey’s stunning range. Tumbling Down and Gravy Train hint promise to be belters but turn out as damp squibs. The Pines follows the 2008 self-titled debut and was produced by Marc Ford of the Black Crowes.
His band’s influence is plain to see, especially on I’ll Have Mercy, although a couple of times it does get horribly close to Mistletoe and Wine; a bizarre mix. Quartey dabbled for a while with Massive Attack, where she was accorded a raw edge that is badly needed here. This is all needlessly safe, more’s the pity.
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