Edge, Liv Warfield, LP

LIV Warfield's live show has been described as like watching Tina Turner, Sade and James Brown all in one. Throw in Mary J. Blige, Etta James and Nina Simone and you're getting closer to an accurate description of singer-songwriter and dynamic performer LIV Warfield. A Soul Train Music Award winner and former member of Prince's New Power Generation, Warfield showcases her wide-ranging musical tastes on Edge. From the rock-tinged title track, which bears the stamp of her mentor, to her autobiographical Bloom and her take on the Phil Collins' power ballad, Another Day in Paradise, LiV inhabits a myriad of attitudes while expressing her inner strength and soul on her third album overall and first for Leopard. As she said of the Prince flavored title track, which opens Edge: I had the lyrics written a couple years back, but Jay McK (bass), Ryan Waters (guitar) and Marlon Patton (drums) went into the studio and just came up with this track so fast. It was beautiful to witness. I just started swaying back and forth, thinking about the first time I met Prince and my auditioning process at Paisley Park. The first time I sang for him was quiet and a bit restrained. The second time I sang it was louder, more confident. I remember thinking, 'I'll just close my eyes, 'cause I don't want to look. I'll just feel with my heart. That should be all it takes.' And that is the feeling I wanted this song to have. It's very much a song about how 'Purple music' takes me. It's kind of a nod to Prince, a thank you of sorts for pulling me out of my comfort zone.