Ebony Evans

Luv's Fire is a great collection of songs with that late 70's sound to it. Ebony's voice has both the power of experience and the sound of innocence. Luv's Fire is what R&B could have become. Title track "Luv's Fire" is the perfect summer cookout song. Ebony opens her heart on the midtempo "Yes I Do". "Loving you is all I wanna do" is a groovy head nodder. 70's Blue note style groove is the midtempo beat of "You happened to me". The Jazzy-soul instrumentation is the perfect fit for Ebony's fresh talent. This album is worth a listen. No filler tracks on this one. - ArtHaus NYC.com

I like the single, "Somebody Let Him Know". No kidding, she sounds like the "Candy Girl" of which New Edition Sang. I can see the Stacy Lattisaw comparison. She seems to be sweet, cute, and maybe a Daddy's girl, something that's been missing from the industry for a long time. - SmoothSoulOnline.com/John Marcus

This young, lovely native Georgian wastes no time getting the party started on this, her debut album, a collection of flavorful R&B/Dance cuts.

The title track "commands" one to succumb to its enticing and bouncy dance rhythm. Track 2, "Yes I Do," possesses a lovely, swaying melody to complement Ebony's lilting vocals. Track 3, "Loving You Is All I Wanna Do," makes one long for the Motown years past, when the Marvelettes, Supremes, and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas had folks gleefully "cutting the rug" at house parties all over the country.

Moving on to track 4, "You Happened to Me," captures one with its "sugar and spice and everything nice" innocence and mellow rhythm. The vocals so fit the song's intended mood, making the combination irresistibly soothing. Next, you can sense how "Push My Button," at track 5, transforms Ebony’s young-girlish innocence to that of a sultry, sexy, assertive woman in this pulsating and driving dance-til-ya-drop offering. She then gracefully falls into a moderate tempo soft and sexy R&B tune on "Whatcha Gonna Do About It Honey" (track 6). This is one of my favorites here. It's a bit difficult to choose a favorite, however. This young lady possesses that unique ability to change vocal moods effortlessly and the music manages to mirror those moods easily with each tune. "Letcha Self Go" (track 8) is another of those Motown/Jackie Wilson dance jams. No surprise here!

Ebony Evans's ability to intertwine the music of yesterday's dance craze with modern R&B flavors will surely make this young lady a name to recognize for years to come. She should be a welcome addition to your personal collection and to our overall collection of up-and- coming talent! Go get 'em, Ebony! - JazzReview.com/Ronald Jackson

Harlem, Georgia born Ebony Evans is a woman with a desire and goal. After meeting the legendary James Brown at a radio party at the age of 12 and being a contestant on the popular television show "Star Search" she has and is still fulfilling her goal as being an R&B "nostalgic soul music" artist. She now presents her debut album "Luv's Fire." Her first track "Luv's fire" provides her listeners a nice groovy, happy, nostalgic funky tune. Ebony Evans continues this up beat nostalgic sound with other tracks such as "Loving you is all I wanna do" "Push my button" and "Do ya wanna" while tracks such as "Can it be" and "Yes I do" serve to slow down the pace in between the upbeat tracks. Her 1980's nostalgic influence on her songs will convince listeners that this was a time period that Ebony loves (if that was her intention.) Ebony's last track "It's music" sounds similar to Parliament's "Give up the funk" and small parts of "Whatcha gonna do about it honey" bares little similarity to Cherelle and Alexander O'Neil's "Saturday love" and "You are my rainbows end" sounds somewhat similar to New Edition's "I'm leaving you again." This evocative influence spills into Ebony's lyrics as themes such as "being in love," "being with you" and "missing you" centre her songs which can suggest another reason why Ebony adores nostalgic music. Ebony Evans' voice is smooth, angelic, and at times, sounds similar to the late Minnie Ripperton minus the high pitch squeals that Minnie is known to do. This is a good suggestion as to why Ebony Evans' voice is tolerable. Unlike other R&B soul singers who sometimes feel the need to scream and sing through their throat and lungs to gain appeal from their audience, Ebony's voice does not overpower her music, nor does she scream at the top of her lungs. However she is still able to grab a listener's attention. "Luv's Fire" is definitely an indication that Ebony has reached her goal and is still striving for more.
- JustSoul.net

Here's a rare treat: a contemporary cd by a young lady that actually contains songs of substance - all by Emanuel M. Campbell Jr. - and, although mainly progammed, resists the urge to put the same heavy percussion, metronomic beat behind every track. There's a hint of the late seventies/early eighties to much of the material, particularly the upbeat opener, 'Luv's Fire', the sort of thing Cheryl Lynn might have done at the time but with a Fern Kinney voice (!) - and the hard, funky, "It's Music" plus the still funky but slower "Push MY Button" and "You Are My Rainbow's End" a midtempo item with a tambourine and drum beat. "Can It Be" and "Til Then My Love" with Tim Kreider's weepig guitar in support, are the principal downtempo ballad items, while "Somebody Let Him Know" is a shuffling beat-ballad and, at similar pace, "Yes I Do" and "You Happened to Me" are mellow and floaty. "Whatcha Gonna Do About it Honey" settles at mid-pace, as does "Let Yourself Go," enhanced by clapping support. "Loving You is All I Wanna Do" and "Turning on the Love You Need" get to be definite toe-tappers and only "Do Ya Wanna" lets the side down by beign rather predictable and nondescript. - In the Basement (UK) basement-group.co.uk

Ebony Evans, out of Atlanta, GA, has combined her talents with songwriter Emanuel M. Campbell Jr. to bring us Luv's Fire. This album is a sweet mix of soul, funk, and R&B. I hear Quincy Jones, Motown, and other classic soul influences all over this album. It is smooth, sultry, and enjoyable.

Luv's Fire, the opening title track, gives a hint of 80's pop, ala Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The guitar is funky, like early Michael Jackson (Off the Wall). Ebony's vocals are powerful and well suited for this song. It's catchy too!

You Happened To Me is a mellow ballad that, again, calls upon memories of Quincy Jones from the vocal melodies to the hook in the keyboard part. The Latin beat gives the whole song this summer Sunday afternoon feel.

Do Ya Wanna is a funky tune that is driven by a killer bass line, and a nice hook as Ebony sings out "Do ya wanna?/Do ya/?Do ya?".

The one opportunity for this CD, which is somewhat paltry anyway, is brevity. The shortest song is four minutes, and the CD is an hour long. It was a bit of a test for my attention deficit brain. I know that there are a lot of others that are wired like me, so it would be difficult to sit down and give the entire CD the proper listen through it deserves. I would have liked to hear the CD clock in around 45 minutes, with an average song length of three and a half minutes.

One of the best things about this album is the retro feel that it has got. There are solid hooks, real instruments, good songwriting, and superb musicianship. Most of today's soul and R&B music tries too hard. From the overeager producers that lose the groove amidst disjointed, manufactured drum loops, to singers that refuse to carry a melody by cramming as many notes as possible into each word that they sing, there has been a disconnection between good songwriting and show-off central. This album overcomes both of those hurdles. Another huge difference is the lyrical writing. Whether it is actually clean or not, it sounds clean. It’s not the overtly hypersexual, unimaginative, adolescent songs of today. For using your creativity, I thank you. This is a superb album. Somebody get me a glass of Covasier, a fireplace, and a leather chair. Enjoy! - Song Tiger