Not many folks in the People’s Republic of South Louisiana have heard of the R&B chanteuse Janiva Magness. Despite a late entry into the field of entertainment, she was deemed the 2009 Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation. Possessor of a vampish voice and phrasing, when she’s not sounding pouty, she sounds absolutely S-E-X-Y. On Magness’ latest Alligator release, she is definitely trying to get a cutting-edge, contemporary R&B sound, not the fatback, retro sound a lot of singers strive for. Even the songs written 30 to 50 years ago have up-to-date arrangements and barely resemble the originals.

Magness is especially a fan of Ann Peebles (who in their right mind isn’t?) as she covers two of the Memphis songstress’ classics, but she puts her own stamp on them. The title track is a clever warning about the perils of love. Some of the material is a little soft, including the inspirational “Walkin’ in the Sun,” and “Save Me,” which sounds like a Bill Withers LP track. She also gets sassy on the no-nonsense “Homewrecker.” The guitar player occasionally gets heavy handed, but there’s a lot to like here.