If you’ve ever listened to an Oleta Adams record, you know what to expect from Let’s Stay Here – namely, a whole bunch of smooth, tasteful tracks that run the slight gamut between gently grooving mid-tempo numbers and velvety ballads, all topped off with her warm, soulful vocals. Adams’ voice is a singular instrument – we’re talking, after all, about a performer who earned her shot at the big time with a performance at a Kansas City bar that just happened to be overheard by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith of Tears for Fears – and its strength has never been up for debate. What she uses that voice for is another question entirely; aside from a handful of pop and R&B hits (most notably “Get Here” in 1991), Adams’ solo career has mostly flown under the radar because her records, by and large, are one quiet storm after another: competently written, tightly performed, and extremely dull. Let’s Stay Here marks her return from a long break from secular recording, but she picks up right where she left off, for better or worse – aside from the moderately funky closer “Act of Forgiveness,” this is one long episode of “For Lovers Only.” It’s perfectly fine for draining a bottle of white wine, in other words, but don’t expect to remember much of it when you’re done – and like the wine, excessive consumption may leave you feeling headachy and nauseous. (Koch/E1 2009)
