The tone of
Respect,
Dessa's 2001 release, leans towards show tunes and middle of the road music, although some songs are tinged by soul and urban and sound more contemporary than the middle of the road material. The more contemporary songs include "Point of No Return," "Heartbreaker" and the remake of
Aretha Franklin's "Respect."
Dessa smoothly changes registers from a delicate alto to a strong soprano. She also sings in the middle register with strength and imbues much passion into her performances. She possesses a powerful voice and uses it to soar into the heavens, as heard on "Saan Ka Man Naroroon" ("Wherever You Are"), "No Less," and others.
Dessa often sings in a high register that some listeners may not initially appreciate, as heard in the opening "Hey, Look at the Sun." After awhile, however, listeners may become accustomed to the high register and find it charming. It helps that
Dessa explores other registers as well and doesn't always remain in the high ones. As noted earlier, much of the album's music is dominated by dramatic, middle of the road tunes, as heard in "Hey, Look at the Sun," "Noon...Ngayon" ("Before...Now"), and "Mahal Kita" ("I Love You"), among others. This type of music is very popular in the Philippines. One of the better middle of the road songs is the touching "Suffer Like This." The modern, soulful music is heard in such songs as "Heartbreaker," one of the album's best songs, as well as the spirited "Love a Love."
Dessa performs a delicate, introspective version of
Gilbert O'Sullivan's "Alone Again, Naturally" and a stimulating version of
Aretha Franklin's "Respect," which features an imaginative arrangement, including a jazz-like guitar solo.