Sonia Dada My Secret Life CD

All tracks have been digitally mastered using HDCD technology.

On their third album, the group starts digging deeper into their grooves, merging various strains of rock, soul, reggae with gospel and R&B for a heady blend. Produced by Muscle Shoal's mainstay Barry Beckett with guitarist/founding member Dan Pritzker, this introduced Shawn Christopher as a regular member of the band, replacing Sam Hogan's gruff vocals with a new, sweeter sound. Christopher, who sang backup on the group's first two releases, is spotlighted nicely on "Don't Go (Giving Your Love Away)" and the closing track, "Paradise." Other highlights include the bounce of the opener "Zachary," "Things Change," "Phases Of The Moon" and "Green-Eyed Esther." While their music has always been delightfully eclectic, this is the album where they finally pull all their disparate sounds and styles together and make something entirely their own out of their mutual sources. Seldom do albums sound as celebratory as this. ~ Cub Koda

Sonia Dada: Shawn Christopher, Paris Delane, Michael Scott (vocals); Dan Pritzker, David Resnik, Phil Miller (guitar); Brian Ripp (saxophone); Mark Ohlsen, Lester Bowie (trumpet); Andrew Love, Wayne Johnson (horns); Richard Lapka (trombone); Chris Cameron, Ron Schwartz, Gregg Rich (keyboards); Erik Scott (bass); Hank Guaglianone, Steve Ferrone (drums); Larry Beers, Greg Marsh (percussion); Bobbye Hall (congas, bongos); Kahil El' Zabar (congas); Sam Hogan, Noha Aboulmagd, Yoko Noge, Maxine Waters, Julia Waters (background vocals).

The Jessy Dixon Singers: Reverend Jessy Dixon, Chris Harris, Karen Boyd, Theresa Davis.

Samana: Shanta, Maia, Aquilla Sadalla, Niki Mitchell.

Engineers include: Paul Ebersold, Ron Schwartz, Scott Steiner.

Reissue