Fondly remembered for starring in stage musicals, Beverley Knight is also a successful recording artist, as demonstrated on The Fifth Chapter, her first new studio album in seven years.

Knight has had several Top 10 albums and sold over a million albums in the UK, with four gold-certified. Her most recent, Soulsville, went straight into the UK Top 10.

Celebrating her half century, The Fifth Chapter sees the Wolverhampton-born singer discovering her groove again over the eleven tracks, albeit with some reservations. With so many different writers and a mix of producers, the end result is not as coherent as it could have been.

Highlights include the singles Last One On My Mind and Systematic Overload, where she displays all the qualities associated with her: a strong vocal over soulful and powerful melodies.

There are touches of gospel music as the London Community Gospel Choir features on several tracks, most notably the uplifting Everything’s Gonna Be Alright, which also has House music supremo Mark Knight on producing duties.

Elsewhere, there are nods to eighties-style Prince and even Janet Jackson on Someone Else’s Problem, along with disco influences on The One I’m Gonna Love.

Hopefully there will be many more chapters to come in the Beverley Knight songbook—for now, though The Fifth Chapter is a kaleidoscope of her musical influences over the years.