If Otis Redding was alive now, he’d be drooling over this CD. So come on you
Soul fans, fork out for this gem. You won’t be disappointed. Honestly.
Not only does Reed have a remarkably shaped voice coping with shrieks and falsetto
with equal measure, he’s got this ‘hot as hell’ band – The True Loves who use
a tight rhythm section – two drummers at his disposal – Attis Clopton and
Noah Rubin and acoustic bassist Mike Montgomery.
With them there’s Ryan Spraker guitarist/back-ups/piano. Brass section is made
up of Ben Jaffe on tenor sax, Patriq Moody on trumpet and Gabe Birnbaum on
tenor/baritone sax, and eight other supporting musicians: you can imagine the
overall sound.
They’re a mix of James Brown meets little Richard meets Memphis Horns.
Considering their age (all in their 20s) they do a stunning job backing the Boston-based
blue-eyed soul boy.
Their aim, no doubt, was recreate a throwback feel across all the songs,
which they’ve done with credibility, style and gusto, creating genuine authenticity
that’ll, if it reaches soul aficionados, keep the spirit of the genre well and
truly alive.
They storm into action on a dance groove with the infectious Stake Your Claim.
Reed leads the pack with punctuated squeals while The True Loves swing with
style-horn blasts and wiry guitar licks aplenty. Am I Wasting My Time is
something Sam Cooke would have delivered during his early 60s heyday and It’s
Easier, a smooth ballad, might have made the cut for Otis Redding’s Otis
Blue album, sitting proudly alongside Change Gonna Come.
For The Satisfier, Reed blows up a James Brown blast on R’n’B dancer in the
Sam and Dave mould, again whipping up a measured squeal when needed. Northern
Soul freaks would be happy enough to dance the night away to the sizzling
Take My Love With You. Roll With You is classic Stax soul. This
gentle ballad proves Reed is comfortable with dance and balladeering. He does
a similar job on She Walks and penultimate (Am I Just) Fooling Myself.
He returns to the dancefloor beats on the rasping adrenalin rush of I Won’t
Give Up, bringing back images of The Blues Brothers on fire. He takes on
James Brown at his own game to end the album: the cut and thrust of funk-fuelled
(Doin’ The) Boom Boom rubber stamps a man, and only 20 something remember,
who’s destined to make his mark in Soul history.
1. Stake Your Claim
2. Am I Wasting My Time
3. It’s Easier
4. The Satisfier
5. Take My Love With You
6. I’ll Roll With You
7. She Walks
8. I’m Gonna Getcha Back
9. Won’t Give Up Without A Fight
10. (Am I Just) Fooling Myself
11. (Doin’ The) Boom Boom
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
