HANDWRITING ON THE WALL (VINYL)

After Ann Peebles' 1977 attempt to merge her Southern soul influences with the disco grooveson 'If This Is Heaven' proved to be a commercial disappointment, and for her next album, Peebles and longtime producer Willie Mitchell took a grand step backwards. First released in 1979, 'The Handwriting Is On The Wall' boasted some high-powered funk backdrops, but for the most part the album finds Peebles taking on a set of straight-ahead soul numbers in which she was usually either taking a man away from some woman who didn't know how to hold on to him, or was warning the ladies why they should stay away from her significant other.
Willie Mitchell pairs Peebles up with some full-bodied soul and funk arrangements for these songs, and while unfortunately most of the great Hi Rhythm Section were unavailable for this record, the players on board do fine work, even if the groove lacks the ineffable touch of Peebles' finest work.
'The Handwriting Is On The Wall' was Ann Peebles' last album for Hi, and the last new set she would release until 1988, but it captures one of the great R&B singers of the 1970s doing what she does best, and here she bows out on a high point.