*** A product of the times. Discofied Pop R & B/Soul with dated production aesthetics but enjoyable nonetheless. A strong cover of "Breaking Up Somebody's Home", the heartbreak ballad "I Can't Love You No More" and a Down home Blues number, "Sweet Feeling" stand out the most. 

**1/2 In pure Denise LaSalle mode, Betty ain't messin' around on the terrific title cut. "He's got a body like Samson and on the dancefloor he's got all the right moves. But when you get home just to have some fun he pull out a toy gun on you." Ouch! It also appears as a "Club Version". Unfortunately none of the other tracks come close. "No Medication" is charming Jazz/Blues, "Dream On" a serviceable Downhome Blues and "Shut Your Mouth" a decent shuffle bumper but covers of "You're Gonna Make Me Cry" & "I'd Rather Go Blind" suffer from tepid arrangements. Plus there's only 8 songs. Still Betty fans will want to add this to their collection.

**** I've said and I'll say it again: 2006 is the "Year Of The Woman" when it comes to Southern Soul Blues. The latest evidence comes from veteran Betty Padgett. You'll notice I said "veteran" while the majority of us may have yet to meet her. Padgett formed a girl group in 1974 called Betty & The Q's and recorded two LPs soon after (1976's "Sugar Daddy" & 1981's "Sweet Feelings") but like so many other talented Soul & Blues artists the fickle market didn't give her a break.

She made a quiet comeback early this decade with two CDs, "Closet Lover" & "30 Second Man", but only the underground was hip. That's going to change with the release of "Never Coming Home". Ms. Padgett has an absolutely fantastic voice. I'm talking in the same league as the Queen Denise LaSalle. That in itself could end this review on the upbeat. Why she isn't signed to a bigger label is beguiling indeed. "Never Coming Home" concentrates on the usual Southern Soul themes: Cheating, relationships, partying, female empowerment but that urban perspective born form experience lets you know there's no pretense. She's just telling it how it is. She could be going on about anything and she'd still sound good. The title track is a slice of Southern Soul ecstasy. This shuffle bumper is told from the perspective of an under-appreciated housewife. She cooks, she cleans and he's a womanizing fool. Well, Betty's had enough and "she ain't never coming home". She tells that cad "When you were out there doing your thing I had plenty time to think/You were out there spending your money on Tameka, Tonya and Teetee I was saving for the days my tears would stop...!". It's simply one of the best kiss-offs in recent memory. Every bit as good as Gloria Gayner's "I Will Survive" when it comes to "washing that man right out of my hair" and moving on. It's been done to death but, dangit...you go girl! Everything works from that tasty little guitar lick that keeps insinuating to the pounding bottom to even the tasty synth horns. Other shuffle bumpers include "Rock Your Boat", "Hey Boy", "Check Yourself" and the festive dancer "Bounce". Each as catchy as a thousand burrs stuck to your socks. Padgett can swing on the finger poppin' "Perfect Man" and sell the slowies too ("Best Friend My Lover"). There's not a weak moment to be found. Sure I wish there were real horns and a bigger studio sound but the sheer soulfulness of this masterpiece renders that superfluous. This is an essential purchase for anyone that loves modern Southern Soul Blues!