Secret Garden

Poised for superstardom?
by: Tim Wardyn

Secret Garden Rock label: Eastside Records released: 09.18.06 our score: 4.5 out of 5.0

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The perfect combination of Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and Joss Stone, Natalie Williams’ third album, "Secret Garden" delivers a gorgeous smorgasbord that will make fans of jazz and R & B double check who is singing.

"This Girl" sounds like it came directly off of an Alicia Keys album. The old-school R & B and a chorus that is just as catchy as Keys’ "You Don’t Know My Name," while the lead single "Butterfly" is more of a smooth jazzy-pop song that’s more along the lines of "Do Somethin’" by Macy Gray.

Williams also has a kinky side as shown in the album’s closer "The Nanny." The Timbaland-esque Amazonian percussive beat provides a sensual backdrop to the chorus "Guess we’ve crossed the line/ Addicted to moving/ There’s no looking back/ The work of your body/ It’s not for the show/ It’s for the money/ But you’re in control/ Cause I’m just a nanny." Quoteth Paris Hilton: "That’s hot."

"Secret Garden" delivers on so many levels and in so many genres (from the Latin-flavored "The Way We Like It" to the laid-back groove of "Psychedelic Love") that her fan base should be expanding faster than Marlon Brando’s waistline. (Yes, I know he’s dead.) Williams is set for stardom both in Europe and the U.S. Anybody who is a fan of any of the above-mentioned ladies must check out Natalie Williams.