#LongPlayLove: Celebrating Lisa Stansfield’s ‘Affection’

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#LongPlayLove: Celebrating Lisa Stansfield’s ‘Affection’
By Justin Chadwick

If there’s one musical era of my lifetime that I’m most romantically nostalgic about, it is unequivocally the four-year span that commenced in 1989 and concluded in 1992.

Not coincidentally, these were my socially formative junior high and early high school years. And as I survived puberty (including the rayon-mandated threads of those awkward junior high dance days) and embarked upon teenagehood, I was a veritable sponge for good music. Thankfully, my ears were never lacking for fun, vibrant records across so many genres during that time – from new jack swing to R&B to hip-hop to house to the birth of so-called grunge rock.

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One of the records that wielded its seductive power over me then was Affection, an intoxicating hybrid of the first four of the aforementioned musical styles. A sophisticated, yet euphoric album expertly crafted to move butts onto the dance floor, Affection introduced the masses (and me) to the impressive vocal chops of Manchester, England-born Stansfield. Upon hearing Stansfield’s sultry voice riding effortlessly atop the thumping, propulsive rhythms provided by producers/co-writers Ian Devaney and Andy Morris (and Coldcut on “This is the Right Time”), it was hard not to be hooked.

My Favorite Song: “You Can’t Deny It”

Bonus Videos:

“All Around the World” (1989)

“This is the Right Time” (1989)

STREAM Lisa Stansfield – Affection (Deluxe Edition)

BUY Lisa Stansfield – Affection (Deluxe Edition)

[amazon_enhanced asin=”B01MTCSNH9″ /]

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