Everlasting Love

On Everlasting Love, Vanessa Williams covers her favorite soul songs of the '70s, often with help from the London Session Orchestra. This is a classy set of material that straddles the line between faithful renditions and creative reinterpretations. The strummy folk-soul of the Isley Brothers' "Harvest for the World" is turned into jazz-funk for the dancefloor; the natural exuberance within "Never Can Say Goodbye" is toned down a few degrees, thanks in part to George Benson's guitar and James "D-Train" Williams' (!) backing vocals.

It’s telling that two of Vanessa Williams’s last three studio albums were Christmas-themed.