Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

Gem Myers takes the audience at the National Labour Day Concert, 2006, in Falmouth, down memory lane.-photo by Janet Silvera

Gem Myers has long declared herself a 'one-man woman', at least one man almost invariably flapping a hand in the euphoria of the moment when she hits the merry chorus of the song on-stage.

There is another kind of single statement that she wants to make, though, Myers saying, 'I find I am doing more and more shows. It would be good if I had a single out'.

Two of those shows came up last weekend - 'Vintage in Gold' at Port Kaiserin Discovery Bay, St. Ann, on Saturday and 'All Fest' at Somerset Falls, in Portland, the day after.

What Myers does have is her fourth and most recent album, Love Lines.

"It is definitely not only about romantic love," Myers said about the 13-track set, which includes Lionel Richie's Jesus Is Love and Lean on Me. Still, it also deals with 'when you heart break, when you make up' Myers said of an album that begins with This Will Be and ends with At Last.

As for putting out an entire set of cover versions, Myers said 'I love putting my stamp on things that have been done already. This is probably self-indulgent of me, but these are songs that I have been singing for ages. Is like you have your favourite dress and never take a picture in it. This is for posterity'.

"If it no sell one copy it do what it supposed to do for me," Myers said.

Moved over to reggae

Teddy P's Love TKO has been done over to a reggae rhythm, as has been Our Love, while there is a touch of rockers in Tell Me Something Good. As co-producer, along with Donovan Palmer, Myers had a hand in those 'yard' touches on an album in which, musically, most of the songs are beautiful reproductions of the originals. "The bassline just give me the vibe to go that way," Myers said of Love TKO.

And on Unchained Melody, she does not hit the very high note on the second go-round of "I need your love" that is not only expected, as the Righteous Brothers did in the original, but that she is very capable of. The vocal restraint, which marks all of Love Lines is deliberate. "I was trying to keep it basic, so the average person can sing along to it. It don't make sense you singing all these great things and nobody can follow. That's why people download and thief songs; they want to be a part of this thing. When you reach live shows you can play around with stuff, add new dimension to the songs and some surprise," Myers said.

Cannot compete

Still, there is that long, high 'me' nearly two minutes into Lean on Me and Myers says 'me know me can't compete with Melba Moore. Me no know how long she hold the note, but it don't make sense yu do the song and don't hold the note. Me know people going to watch the clock if me do it live'.

She wishes there were something she could do live, background vocals for herself, as 'back-up vocals is one of my favourite things to do'. It is a job she has done for Judy Mowatt, Jimmy Cliff and Toots and the Maytals, among others. Writing is another matter, though, as she finds the process too self-revealing.

And despite doing more large shows, Gem Myers still heads to the north coast to do cabaret, saying 'I have a better way of dealing with that. When I have the time I go'. "I love it. I love to entertain," she said.