Rosie Gaines (August 5, 1995) – Album Review – The Kingston Whig-Standard

The 5 August 1995 edition of The Kingston Whig-Standard reviews Rosie Gaines’ debut album Closer Than Close, noting her background with Prince and the New Power Generation.

Publication: The Kingston Whig-Standard

Date: August 5, 1995

Country: Canada

The review introduces Rosie Gaines as a protégé of the singer once called Prince and the dominant voice on “Diamonds and Pearls,” as well as a multi-instrumentalist in the New Power Generation. It states that her album does not sound like Prince but rather classic soul divas such as Aretha Franklin. Gaines is praised for sailing through ballads and uptempo songs with ease.

The opening track “I Want U” is described as a Prince song incorporating vocals from Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You.” With the exception of two Bob Marley tunes, Gaines wrote the rest of the material and handled most of the instrumentation. The reviewer concludes that the pupil might soon outdo the master and that Rosie Gaines deserves to be a superstar.

CONTEXT AND NOTES

 The piece highlights Gaines’ independent debut while acknowledging her earlier association with Prince.

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS Event: Album review Era: 1995

Tone: Positive, appreciative Photography: Album-cover style image of Rosie Gaines

WHAT THE CLIPPING SHOWS

• Headline “ROSIE GAINES”

• Reference to her work with Prince and the New Power Generation

• Positive assessment of Closer Than Close

• Note that she wrote most of the songs and played most instruments

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