"Just One Day" by Kim Sozzi
Order the album in CD form from amazon.com
Order the album in MP3 form from amazon.com

Kim Sozzi has been around quite awhile, having recorded two albums already (one as Kim Styles). However, since 2005, she’s been continuously working the U.S. dance market as an Ultra Records signee, starting with the group Mynt (releasing the superlative song “How Did You Know” among others) before breaking out two years ago as a solo act again.

After a run of popular singles, Ultra has put a larger commitment on the line and brought us a full album from the talented singer from Long Island.  This is a worthy collection with enough strong dance tracks to keep the listener entertained.

One of the biggest positives is that her four singles, produced over the last two years, are all here: Her incredibly potent version of Heart’s “Alone,” her current chart-topper “Feel Your Love,” last year’s jam “Like a Star,” and the Cascada version of “Break Up,” which is stronger than the other versions presented when the single came out.

Given that the album clocks in at 10 tracks, this doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for additional new tracks, so fans of Sozzi may be disappointed to not get more new material.  Thankfully, there’s enough good new material to enjoy to warrant a purchase.

“Open Up Your Heart” highlights Sozzi’s fine voice, with nice harmonies and a strong beat. “Kiss Me Back” is an affectionate song (for lack of a better phrasing) and is a fun song.  “Just One Day” seems like the strongest single to follow “Feel Your Love,” which exceptional singing, a fun beat and a nice progression in the chorus. “Secret Love” slows the beat down a bit, to good result.

The remaining tracks aren’t quite as fun. “Edge of a Broken Heart” doesn’t have a beat that holds up to many of the other songs on the album.  It just doesn’t seem to have the same oomph some of her other songs have. The closer, “All I Want is You,” sounds like a relic misplaced from the 90s and Lil’ Suzy, and doesn’t really fit Sozzi well as it doesn’t really let her shine all that much. The music behind her is a bit too synthesized, and while this is a dance album, it probably could have been done better for a ballad.

There’s other questions here too: considering Mynt was also signed to Ultra, why are some of her Mynt contributions not included here, even as a bonus?  The album Is so short, and goes buy so fast, there was definitely room to do a bit more here.  Also, given that the album was half complete already, with the singles already occupying slots, it would have been nice to get a bit more. The iTunes version gives you two bonus mixes, but one of them’s an extended track, so it doesn’t do too much to help that situation.

However, it’s easy to be selfish when you have an artist like Kim Sozzi performing in the arena.  She’s a talented singer, and wanting more comes with the territory of her being talented enough to carry the day.  For those who have the singles, I don’t know of a better use for iTunes’ complete my album function.  For those who haven’t initiated themselves with Sozzi yet, here’s a great way to get started.