India.Arie's Voyage to India

Voyage to India

India.Arie (Motown)

India.Arie is on a journey. Her soulful voice and beautiful melodies are the guide. The destination is self-discovery. The liner notes of Voyage to India contain Arie's thanks to her "soul brothas and sistas," who include Cassandra Wilson, Whitney Houston, Angie Stone, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Wonder provided the inspiration for the album's title, borrowed from an instrumental piece on his 1979 Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants.

Arie has been compared to Lauryn Hill, but she's in a class by herself. Unlike, say, Alicia Keys, she refutes the notion that r&b singers have to dilute the soul to have broad crossover appeal on the pop charts. Instead, she gets back to her roots on Voyage to India, and has produced a soulful album with an unabashedly positive vibe. Critics have carped that nothing on this second album matches the pop-friendly hooks of the breakout single "Video," Arie's tribute to beauty that doesn't conform to the standards of white, blonde fashion editors, which earned her the devotion of legions of young black women. But the track "Little Things" has the rhythm and message (to appreciate the best of life's simple pleasures) to resonate on pop radio. Arie sings, "Give me some good food/Give me some cute shoes/Give me some peace of mind/Give me some sunshine/Give me some blue skies." "Talk to Her" also has breakout hit potential, as Arie sings again about respect for women and everything feminine: "When you talk 2 her: Talk 2 her like you want somebody to talk to your mama/Don't get smart with her have a heart to heart/With her just/Like you would with your daughter."

Arie has remained true to herself and offered an unpretentious second album built around the strength, depth and suppleness of her voice, her warm, smooth melodies and acoustic hooks. In a recent New York Times interview, she said, "I want my album to be something that fills up a space with good love energy. Or fills up a person that way?where they say, 'Every time I listen to that album, I feel good.' I want that. That's my wish." Wish granted.

India.Arie appears Weds., Nov. 27, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Newark, NJ; 1-888-GO-NJPAC.