From our longtime lead vocalist contributor Howard Hewett comes his newest single 'This Moment In Time" [Silver Blue Records]. That's all it is really, and not much more could be found by your dear reviewer in spite of calling the record company and even enlisting the search engine of Google. There is nothing, no buzz, or promotional effort behind this rather pleasant surprise. I was ready for another of his warm ballads of unrequited love. Instead, this is hip, danceable and uptempo!
You may remember him from the good old early '80s Shalamar days on Don Cornelius' Solar label, as he was one third of the trio that also featured Jody Watley and Jeffrey Daniel. Now the big five-oh, the Libra still belts out the hook as clear as ever. Maybe Shalamar should have a reunion and revisit such smashes as "Make That Move," "The Second Time Around," "This Is For The Lover In You," or "Over and Over!"
This CD single features eight remixes by Vallee Boyz, 30 Dirty Junkies (love that name!), and The K & S Project; two short mixes for radio included. Track four, Mike Cruz's Vibe Extended, got my creative mix juices flowing with various movements that should pique the DJ's imagination. Track six, from our 30 Dirty Junkies, has a slightly slower tempo which enables the potential radio listener to understand Howard's lyrics even better. "Like a kid in the store..." he seems to be still singing because he likes to, but not because it is his passion. The other versions kind of run together, and without nation/worldwide promotion, will probably be ignored.
My intuition tells me this will be looked at as a "stiff" because there is just so much quality stuff like these beats and rhythms out there. Gladly, the state of Dance/Club music is very competitive these daze, and that's great; I am glad he went in this direction, and hope he has many more renaissance moments such as this in the future. Rejuvenation begins at fifty; moment-to-moment... I should know. Watch the company you keep, Mr. Hewett; you get a two-and-a-half star rating from me who used to play Shalamar on 98.7 Kiss FM, New York City back in the daze.
