Come Share My Love

After spending six years as the featured vocalist for the Los Angeles–based R&B group Side Effect, Miki Howard broke into a solo career with 1986’s Come Share My Love. Bolstered by the chart success of the title song, the album quickly established Howard as one of the premier female vocalists of the latter '80s. The title song and “Love Will Find a Way” are slow but funky, catchy but textured, and complex without sacrificing directness. Howard’s greatest skill as a performer was her ability to balance opposites. As an R&B vocalist, she staked a rare middle ground: between being youthful and mature, effervescent and sage. She fit easily into the sassy funk of “I Surrender” and “Do You Want My Love” but could turn around and disarm the audience with the classic jazz balladry of “Imaginations.” Regardless of the given material, she was never dull and never jaded. She comes off with the spark of a rookie, even though the 25-year-old Howard already exhibited the musical chops of a veteran performer.