Elkie Brooks

Pearls: The Very Best Of Elkie Brooks

VIRGIN EMI. CD/DL Husky-voiced British R&B ledge offers gems galore.

Oh, we may sneer at the idea of AOR, but the truth is that it takes some experience of being an actual adult – of living a little, or preferably a lot – to really relish the music of Elkie Brooks. Like Stevie Nicks, Brooks is the kind of singer who sounded like she’d been hitting the Woodbines for 40 years when she was still a kid, and every bit of joy, passion, regret and sweat since then has only served to enrich her voice. Brooks’s million-selling 1981 album Pearls (1981) remains her definitive statement as an artist, and its soulful songs provide the backbone of this hits collection. Sure, there are some slightly questionable ’80s arrangements, but consider that part of these songs’ bittersweet charms: no grit, no pearl.