A top-notch adult contemporary vocalist still awaiting a well-deserved crossover commercial breakthrough, Marilyn Scott adds powerful fuel to her cause on Avenues of Love by helping herself with a well-balanced array of production and songwriting talent. George Duke surrounds her with party voices and a kneejerking Latin groove on a playful list of dance steps on I Like to Dance, then surrounds her clear, sensuous voice with airy, billowing synth cushioning on the Bacharach-David classic The Look of Love. Scott and bassist Jimmy Haslip reroute to Memphis on Michael Ruff's Wilson Pickett-like pick me up, Love Is a Powerful Thing, engaging a two-piece horn section that sounds even larger. The Yellowjacket touch is in full effect on the picturesque Avenida del Sol, which approximates an update of the gentle Astrud Gilberto sound; the tune was written by Scott and Bob Mintzer, and produced by Scott, Haslip, and Russell Ferrante. Scott's greatest gift here is her sense of modulation; she belts like crazy on the funk pieces, but recognizes the emotional power of restraint on the ballads. ~ Jonathan Widran, Rovi

1		Starting to Fall
2		I Like to Dance
3		Avenida del Sol
4		The Look of Love
5		Heaven's Design
6		Love Is a Powerful Thing
7		Hold You Up
8		Hey Love
9		Get Home
10		The Last Day

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