★★★★★
Later described by producer
- recordcollectormag.com
2014-06-19
★★★★★
's story is one that bears repeating. In true rags-to-riches Hollywood style, she was discovered by producer Theodore Life singing as she cleaned Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. He signed the 17-year-old there and then. King broke through in 1978 with her disco classic, Shame, and its parent record Smooth Talk. Two further albums followed in a similar vein, until former keyboard player Kashif Saleem took over production and writing duties on her 1981 album, I'm in Love...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2013-04-23
★★★★★
One of the more underrated vocalists of the late 70s and early 80s, Evelyn "Champagne" King quietly put together a solid collection of hits, including definitive cuts of the disco movement ("Shame") and early 80s electronic funk ("Love Come Down," "I'm In Love"). So her absence from the studio for a decade has truly been a shame, a problem she resolves with the release of Open Book in association with emerging soul label RNB Entertainment (the group behind last year's Billy Griffin release)...
- www.soultracks.com
2010-12-07
★★★★★
Examining this for more timeless trifles after rediscovering "Love Come Down" on Capital Radio, I got to like side two's opener as well. Unfortunately, the other tracks were just pleasant enough to keep me trying until I rediscovered how few trifles are timeless.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-17
★★★★★
On the heels of 1983's artistically and commercially disappointing Face to Face, King served up a much more consistent follow-up with this album. From the onset of the set's vivacious opener, "Show Me (Don't Tell Me)" - with a lyrical context notably similar to '83's "Action," So Romantic allows King plenty of room to showcase her flair for dance music without overcrowding her with excessive electronic gimmicks...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
Producer T. Lifeenlisted a few different players on King's sophomore set. The resulting flavor is a bit jazzier than 1977's Smooth Talk, but also more formulaic and predictable. The fun, funky grooves are replaced here by thinner dance concoctions; and furthermore, the songs themselves aren't as substantial, lyrically or melodically. King does her best to shine over the humdrum, which she does most successfully on the two-part hustler "Steppin' Out" and catchy titletrack...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
As the 1980's progressed, Evelyn "Champagne" King switched producers more frequently, in an effort to keep up with the more quickly changing patterns of dance-driven R&B; music. This relatively sterile album didn't make any great leaps for her career, but it did keep her name on the market...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
★★★★★
After working with producer T. Life on her first three albums (1977's Smooth Talk, 1979's Music Box and 1980's Call on Me), Evelyn "Champagne" King changed producers for her fourth album, I'm in Love -- a generally excellent release that found the singer being commercially and creatively revitalized...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-28
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