Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel / Adventures in Paradise (1974-75)

This release pairs Minnie Riperton’s 1974 Perfect Angel with the following year's Adventures in Paradise; two albums that brought the singer her most popular success. Minnie, who had been lead vocalist in the '60s band The Rotary Connection, had one of the finest voices in Pop and Soul music –with her amazing five-and-a-half octave vocal range!- and made a huge impact on the music business during her short life. Perfect Angel, produced by Stevie Wonder, turned out to be one of Riperton's best-selling albums. Included were the rock-soul anthem ‘Reasons’, the second single, ‘Take a Little Trip’, and the third single, ‘Seeing You This Way’. Sales of the album started out slow and Epic was ready to move on to the next record, but her husband Richard Rudolph convinced them to release another single. With the fourth single ‘Lovin' You’, the album caught on, and in April 1975 the song went to the top of the charts in the US and 24 other countries. It reached number two in the UK, and number three on the R&B charts. Perfect Angel went gold, and Riperton was finally revered as the "lady with the high voice and flowers in her hair". The album also featured the song ‘Every Time He Comes Around’, with Deniece Williams singing the background vocals. Adventures in Paradise is not quite as across-the-board hot, but songs like the irresistibly seductive ‘Inside My Love’ make for another engaging listen.

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Minnie Riperton singing live 'Loving You' (1975). Notice how beautifully she refers to her daughter Maya (Rudolph) near the end of the song:

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... Yes, you heard right: She really could do THAT with her voice!