Sunshine Anderson | The Sun Still Shines | TheUrbanMusicScene.com

Sunshine Anderson | The Sun Still Shines

The advantage of making music for a living has its extra perks. Sometimes a musician or vocalist can act as their own therapist in the process.Sunshine Anderson has survived the pitfalls within a brutal industry world and in dealing with personal relationships Things were looking up musically for this rich soulful vocalist with her debut in 2001, Your Woman, produced by one of R&B’s respected minds, Mike City (Faith Evans, Jamie Foxx, etc.), which achieved gold status and lots of promise for the R&B airwaves. Her creamy alto bristled with nothing but the forthright lyrics of “Heard It All Before,” which might as well be her lifelong theme. Though like many vocalists striving towards a bigger recording platform, the North Carolina native ran into her fair share of road blocks. After City’s custom label Soul life parted ways with Atlantic Records, Anderson was eventually left out in the cold. Her second project, “Sunshine at Midnight,” featuring “Force of Nature” and “Something I Wanna Give You”; plus four City-produced tracks, was a commercial and marketing letdown. Originally to be released in 2004, Music World finally released it three years later after her previous label put it on the shelf due to prioritizing other artists on their roster.

Though Andersons’ solo career was not exactly going as planned, her voice provided stunning duet material, including “Last Night” on Anthony Hamilton’s2005 Soul life release, produced by City.Understandably, it was a matter of time when her concerned fan base was probably asking the inevitable “whatever happened to?” During her last recording draught, Anderson kept busy by taking a day job in a salon and concentrating on raising a family. Despite her strong will to survive life’s huge curves, her inner voice was ready to be unleashed again. Yet her frustration built without a record deal in the works. Then there was the stress with her husband’s personal issues, which eventually led to divorce.

Ready to enter her next phase,Anderson continued to focus on motherhood and dusted herself off for the upcoming recording project to be, The Sun Shines Again;thanks to material already in the can with long time collaborator, Mike City. And true to Anderson’s no-holds barred style, there is plenty to share regarding the lessons learned in her marriage. Throughout much of The Sun Shines Again, Anderson’s voice lends enough underlying tension that the listener could cut with a knife; all set to a soundtrack of funky dance beats and sophisticated balladry. “Hard Love” talks about the obvious struggles while staying faithful in love relationships: “There is a little hard love in most of us. It makes us do crazy things.” The empowering anthem, “Life Back,” aims to reclaim the joy after dedicating many years invested in a failing marriage. The orchestrations of“Karma’s A Mutha” are filled with the sweet Japanese stringed instrument, the koto. Ironically, the subject matter is anything but sweet. “A Warning for the Heart” provides opportunity to fully experience Anderson’s matter-of-fact, vulnerable side with just piano accompaniment; while the seventies soul-soaked “Nervous” is a battle of the nerves about wanting to be more than friends with that supposed special someone. Residing to the fact that there is hope after lost love, “Call My Own” retakes ownership of what life has to offer: “I’m tired of losing sleep over things I can’t control.” Finally the debut single, “Lie to Kick It” plots to catch a male cheater in the act of infidelity. This track brings back the time when girl groups in the eighties like Xscape and En Vogue ruled the roost packing powerful, soul busting harmonies.

With the exception of the pedestrian, over-sexed up “U Doin It,” The Sun Shines Again truly is worthy of adult contemporary R&B splendor. Maybe this time, Anderson’s new label home, Verve Forecast, will go to bat for her and give her more opportunities to shine on a regular basis. By the way, Anderson proves on The Sun Shines Again that the power of lyrics and a down to earth vocal personality is sometimes needed to cleanse the soul inside and out.

Peggy Oliver

The Urban Music Scene