7" vinyl single/digital
2020
(Review by Steve Shafer)
Back in 1985, I picked up a copy of the Reggae Greats: Strictly for Lovers compilation, since so many other releases in the Reggae Greats series had been so good. But this collection--which, unbelievably, doesn't include any female Lovers rock artists--didn't move me. As a callow 18 year-old, I just wasn't ready for this style of reggae, which I probably thought was too soft (all apologies to Dennis Bovell!). Carroll Thompson's phenomenal new single "Feel the Magic," released in advance of her forthcoming record Where Did Our Lovers Go?, has shown me the error of my ways, and then some! For whatever reason--advanced age, accumulated life experience, listening to a lot of Hollie Cook and Schnice Mcmenamin--I get it now, and am wondering what else I've missed out on for all these years. Even though it's been many years since she first broke out as a superstar on the UK Lovers rock scene with her singles "I'm So Sorry" (1980) and "Simply in Love" (1981), and then her wildly successful indie debut album Hopelessly in Love (1981), which sold over 1 million copies worldwide, Thompson has been consistently releasing albums and singles in the years since--and her voice is still in incredible shape, with a gorgeous purity to its tone. On "Feel the Magic," after she sings, "Even after so long/It's still strong/Every time you kiss my lips/I still feel the magic," you'll be ready to follow her to the ends of the Earth.
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