Classically trained, ex-music teacher
Donna Lewis
made a major impact in the
pop
world with her 1996 hit
"I Love You Always Forever."
The track, from the Welsh singer's debut release
Now in a Minute
, was inspired by an
H.E. Bates
novel and spent over two months at number two on the American charts. There's nothing else nearly as compelling on the album, although there is a handful of other solid tracks like the hypnotic
"Nothing Ever Changes"
and the dreamy
"Simone."
Lewis
has a girlish voice that sounds like a less quirky
Kate Bush
. The music, played by studio musicians and produced by
with
Kevin Killen
, has a high-sheen, glossy feel that contradicts the somewhat personal nature of the lyrics. The one song that escapes the overproduction is the lovely piano ballad
"Silent World,"
which closes the record and hints what might have been. ~ Tom Demalon