US release date: April 23rd 1991
US album chart peak: #90
UK album chart peak: Didn't chart (a pop crime)!
Buy What Comes Naturally here (Amazon GB)
I'll confess that Sheena Easton's 10th album sneaked up on me. I had loved her Babyface-helmed 1988 smash album, The Lover In Me as well her ethereal, dreamy contribution to the Prince helmed 1989 Batman album (The Arms of Orion). But a couple of years is a long time in pop and for whatever reason, Sheena wasn't dominating the teen mags or featured in the "in the studio" section of the more prestigious music press. That meant it was a pleasant surprise when I saw a full page advertisement in Billboard magazine promoting her upcoming single and album, What Comes Naturally. The seductive cover (which the photographer described as "tramped up ballerina who moonlights as either a casino craps dealer or a New Jeresy hairdresser with a gambling addiction") couldn't fail to leap out the page and I eagerly opened my wallet and let my favourite import dealer order the album for me. While Babyface didn't follow her to this project, the influence of his style and the new jack/jill swing sound permeated the opus. Perhaps not as cohesive as her previous set but no less exhilarating a ride. It tragically didn't chart as high as it should have but remains a solid set of pop/dance and exquisite ballads.
- What Comes Naturally ~ the album sneaked up on me but when I heard the first single it hit me like a truck. I think the first thing that hooked me in to the delightfully dance oriented title track was the whispery, not quite rap Middle 8, the style of which would become a fave of mine over the years (see also En Vogue's Strange; Debbie Gibson's Shock Your Mama). It was so much more than that though. The intoxicating blend of r'n'b with huge pop hooks made me want to kick off my Mormon shoes and dance like these limber boy dancers in the salacious video. To me, it screamed "enormous smash" - and, for sure, that was the case in some territories. The single sashayed its way into the top twenty in the US (and thrusted its way to number 4 in Australia). Sadly, it didn't get out the starting blocks in the UK (stalling at number 83) but remains an underrated classic...
- You Can Swing It ~ after hitting multiple club charts on the Billboard charts with that lead single it is no surprise that single two was another uptempo number. Remixed for single release by Dave Pensado with a feisty new rap added by Richard Wolf, the radio edit clocked in at a whopping five and a half minutes (potentially limited airtime but certainly making this a dancefloor favourite). She weaves in sassy hip hop (or at least hip-hop lite) into the music during her alluring invitation, giving shades of Pebbles (both in musical style and on the cover art). That pulsing beat and punctuated synth effects gave the song a seductive feel but it sadly wasn't enough to entice folk to give her another hit from the album.
- To Anyone ~ with the law of diminishing returns hitting the album's singles at an early stage it was no surprise that the label chose a sweeping ballad as single number three. Sure, Sheena could deliver with the on-trend pop numbers in exhilarating ways but she was in an element with a heartbreaking orchestral song full of drama and pathos. She certainly delivered the notes with emotion in this song, a power ballad for the ages that surely must at least have made inroads at US Adult Contemporary radio stations. It was a standout for me from the moment I got the album and, despite the lack of chart action, remains a favourite to this day.
- Somebody ~ a joy for me, in the 80s and 90s, was extending curtailed album campaigns beyond the label's vision. No further singles were released from What Comes Naturally but a couple of additional songs made my monthly "new singles" mix tapes. First of those was a song I would later refer to as "like a Blackout era Britney track". If dance was the mission statement of this album, then the mid-tempo rhythmic yearnings of this track demonstrated how versatile Ms Easton could be in enticing you to shake your thang. Sheena delivered sass and class on this song, an all too vivid reminder of how we often move on from fractured relationships yet cannot get them out of our minds. That evocative synth breakdown in the bridge is pop heaven (one can only imagine the Shep Pettibone mixes for a 12" single release)...
- Forever Friends ~ if Somebody could be described as down tempo dance number, then Forever Friends could be described as a more uptempo ballad. With a gently swaying groove, finger click beats and an inspirational refrain it was certainly hard not to fall (and fall hard) for this song. Plus, I started really focusing on the song as my high school experience came to an end. It seemed to perfectly encapsulate the emotions I had to the small group of chums who made the hellish experience more bearable. It was an arms aloft in the air, rousing moment to conclude both an album campaign and whatever personal journey you were ready to move on from...
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