★★★★★
The 1980 BBC documentary The Big Time made Sheena Easton one of Britain's first reality TV stars before anyone had bothered to coin the phrase. It stood her in good stead for a few years, spawning a string of MOR hits and even the cachet of recording a Bond theme (For Your Eyes Only), but by 1984 she was restlessly looking for fresh challenges...
- recordcollectormag.com
2013-05-24
★★★★★
Why would a popster do a lushly arranged album of standards that were written before she was born? Why not? Everybody's doin' it, and Sheena Easton fares a lot better than, say, Sinéad O'Connor when digging into the timeless/timely ore of "Body and Soul" and "Someone to Watch Over Me." Keyboardist-producer Patrice Rushen's comfortable, if not very adventurous, arrangements range from small jazz combos to everything-but-strings big-band ensembles...
- ew.com
2010-08-27
★★★★★
It took genuine nerve for Sheena Easton to call her album What ComesNaturally. To her, nothing does. Easton has always been a musicalmannequin, a featureless vessel given identity by the accoutrementshung upon her. In her past hits, she's been musically outfitted as aperky lounge singer (in 1981's "Morning Train"), a New Wave toughie(in 1984's "Strut"), a Prince sex-bomb (in 1985's "Sugar Walls"),and, most convincingly, as a shill for an exercise club (in her moistJack LaLanne ads)...
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Taking on a notably sexier stance and wetting her feet in slightly funkier repertoire, A Private Heaven expands a good deal on Easton's trademark light pop. The lively "Strut" and the provocative, Prince-penned "Sugar Walls" both made the Top Ten on the pop charts (the latter also made the R&B; Top Ten) and serve as two of the set's strongest offerings. The snappy, jazzy "Back in the City" and memorable ballad "Hard to Say It's Over" are not instantly as catchy, but ultimately just as strong...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
This set wisely emphasizes ballads and midtempo's over fast-paced rockers. Easton can deliver the latter well if given the right song, but her naturally acute tone combined with Christopher Neil's heavy production style often makes for an overbearing sound. It's in a moodier, yet still passionate context such as the intriguing "Weekend in Paris" or the soulful "I Wouldn't Beg for Water" that she's most effective...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
It is saying something when a song sounds great except for the particular singer who is belting it out. The belter here is Sheena Easton and the song in case is "My Cherie," which is like a melodic offspring of "Morning Train": smooth and repetitive so that it clings to the listener willingly or not. Easton's vocals are so nasally and hyperactive on the song that it is nearly unbearable, yet so hard to shake off...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Less than three years after her debut, Easton was already on album number four. Best Kept Secret is not a remarkably consistent effort, and finds the Belshill, Scotland native trying to keep up with commercial trends more than bringing forth quality material. Indeed, there are several gems to be found here in the sparkling cover of Dusty Springfield's "Just One Smile" and the strong ballad "Almost Over You...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
★★★★★
Coming hot off the heels of the largely successful A Private Heaven, the response to Sheena Easton's follow-up set was surprisingly numb. Though producer Nile Rodgers had also had much success shortly before via his work with Madonna on Like a Virgin, the soul-tinged club arrangements he instilled Do You with were perhaps too retro-sounding for radio...
- music.aol.com
2008-08-27
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