Despite racking up two Mobo awards and performing for Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela, Beverley Knight remains a slightly obscure figure within the British pop firmament. Now she's on a mission: to prove that soul singers from this side of the Atlantic can, contrary to popular belief, be just as good as their American counterparts. On the evidence of Who I Am, her astonishingly self-confident third album, it's a mission that's well on the way to being accomplished. The Wolverhampton beauty has a voice to die for, and this time around she's done it real justice by matching it with a fine blend of garage-style RandB tracks and tastefully restrained ballads. Who I Am may be lacking in killer singles, but it's a consistently polished collection that reveals further pleasures with each repeated listening. If Lauryn Hill, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu represent the new soul aristocracy, then Knight is quite fit to join them.
