HAVING hit big with the anthemic 1980, big things were expected of Estelle... big things that never quite happened. Now signed to John Legend's label - which may explain why the likes of will.i.am, Kanye West, Cee-Lo, Wyclef Jean, Mark Ronson and Legend himself are on board - she has turned in a solid slice of modern pop-soul with a Brit-twist.
No Substitute Love reassembles the words of George Michael's Faith into an assertion of feisty independence, American Boy finds Ribena in Kanye's impeccable flow, In The Rain praises the damp delights of an English summer and Cee-Lo adds some muscle to Pretty Please. Musically, this could have been stodgy US soul fodder, but tracks like Magnificent keep one toe in the dancehall camp. A right charmer.
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