Stay In Love / Minnie

Album Review

Minnie Riperton's second through fifth solo albums were reissued by the U.K. label Stateside in 2004. Rather than release them individually, Stateside paired 1974's Perfect Angel with 1975's Adventures in Paradise and 1977's Stay in Love with 1979's Minnie. Although it's good to have these albums available again, it's unfortunate that they've been given the two-for-one treatment and the altered/ugly artwork that comes with it. Neither Stay in Love nor Minnie come all that close to matching the heights of Come to My Garden or Perfect Angel; the singles and album-cut highlights that have been placed on a number of Riperton anthologies will be enough for most casual fans. However, there's a good deal of depth beneath the likes of "Stick Together," "Young, Willing and Able," "Lover and Friend," and "Memory Lane." Fans of her Rotary Connection days and the early solo years might have trouble with the smoothed-out sounds of these two albums, but they're both uniquely spirited and not without their pleasures.