From a certain angle,
Texas could be seen as proto-
Amy Winehouse. In 1997, a full seven years before
Winehouse's debut
Frank,
Texas reinvented themselves as a blue-eyed soul group via their fourth album,
White on Blonde. Buoyed by the hits "Say What You Want" and "Black Eyed Boy" -- the former sultry, the latter bouncing along like
Motown -- the album was a smash throughout Europe, arguably opening the door for
Winehouse and later
Adele to walk through, but
Texas never saw the same level of prominence, particularly in the U.S. Maybe that's why they've decided to celebrate their quarter-century anniversary by reworking a substantial chunk of their catalog with the
Truth & Soul collective, who supported both
Amy and
Adele on various recordings.
Texas 25 has eight of those reworked hits, every one now emphasizing the group's retro-soul leanings, plus four brand-new songs that suit this style. Occasionally, the group sounds a little bit older and wiser -- vocalist
Sharleen Spiteri is slightly huskier than she was when the songs were first essayed -- which is an attitude that fits nicely with the stylish groove of
Truth & Soul. It's a subtle difference -- there's not a world of difference between the original and remake of "Say What You Want" -- but it's enough to make
Texas 25 seem like a celebration, and one that long-term fans will likely enjoy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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