Women are back on top

ADEVA is clearly a woman who likes to be on top. "Wait a minute; stop this track," she yells less than two minutes into "It Should've Been Me" , the opening number on Love or Lust? "This is not the way I wanna sing this song." Im - mediately , the rhythm section rearranges itself from a sultry and rather appealing Soul II Soul groove, into a brash, four-on-the-floor techno thump. Free to lay into what is left of the tune with all the' (considerable) force she can muster, the so-called "goddess of house" lets rip with a long ululating shriek. Adeva is the rave culture's version of Grace Jones, albeit with a proper voice, but whereas Jones used to turn the screw on a song by injecting shades of mystery into her per - formance , Adeva's approach is to hammer the thing flat. She has her tender moments, handling the ballad "Until You Come Back to Me" with kid cloves, while her duet with

Monie Love on "Ring My Bell" has a bustling charm. But in general she relies too much on the pneumatic, diva - on - heat approach. For a more emollient experi - ence , Emotions, the second album by Mariah Carey, is recommended. Carey has now enjoyed five American No 1 hits with her first five singles, a commercial achievement which has reinforced percep - tions of her as the successor to Whitney Houston. The bright soul arrange - ments oh Emotions are livelier and more modern sounding than Houston's ma - terial , and Carey wastes no time in demonstrating her technical virtuosity with the long, piercingly high notes that she pulls out on "And You Don't Remember" and "Can 't Let Go". But she has soul too, and her almost four - octave range is heard to its best effect smouldering in the lower register of "If It's Over" ....