I Just Can't Stop Loving You

by Alex HendersonFrom Mark Murphy and Eddie Jefferson to Lorez Alexandria, most of the singers that Muse recorded were hardcore jazz vocalists. But there's no getting around the fact that Morgana King's I Just Can't Stop Loving You is a pop release, first and foremost. Not for jazz snobs, this CD must be judged by pop standards instead of jazz standards--and when you do that, it becomes clear that King has delivered a pleasant and enjoyable, if less than spectacular, adult contemporary-oriented collection. This isn't to say that the disc is devoid of jazz-- "How About You" and "They All Laughed" are essentially jazz, but those tracks are the exception instead of the rule. King, who was in her early 1960s when the album was recorded, favors a pure pop approach on material that ranges from Michel Legrand's "Summer Me, Winter Me" and the Cars' "Drive" to less than three Michael Jackson hits: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "The Lady in My Life" and "Human Nature." Muse generally did well by King in the 1980s and 1990s, and I Just Can't Stop Loving You is no exception.