**** Joi Cardwell

JOI

(Eightball)

Cardwell, with the rawest soprano among house music's favorite soul divas, here gets an entire CD in which to unleash her drama. The music -- lean and lush, jazzy and in dub -- answers back with some pretty heavy drama of its own, in many shapes. From the hard house ("Soul To Bare," "Crying Eyes") to sweet garage ("Found Love"), tribal ("Turn Back Time"), and dark sleaze ("What Does IT Mean?"), Cardwell moves in close and closer, so intimately that in "Wet" you can almost taste her breathing -- and her sweat. For years now Cardwell's sweet-tongued honey contralto has been the favorite voice for top-line DJs from Junior Vasquez to Danny Tenaglia; this Best Diva CD of the Year shows why.

-- Michael Freedberg