Monday, Aug. 02, 1999
On How Life Is
By David E. Thigpen
Fresh off the club circuit, she's riding a jet stream of hype that has some touting this new Los Angeles singer as the second coming of Billie Holiday. Gray has a raw, bluesy voice, full of dark intonation, and a lovely way of sliding around the beat. But in the upper register, where she likes to work, her voice pinches into a thin meow that undercuts the drama she wants to convey. The single Do Something only skims the anguish she's after. Gray deserves time to ripen before she's saddled with such heavy hopes.
--By David E. Thigpen