Released - 1/25/11
Label - Daptone Records
BLURB - Well, I'm back for year three of 52 Records, so why not have my first review center around some sweet soul music? Along with Sharon Jones and Lee Fields, Charles Bradley has been one of the cornerstones of the Daptones label which has been growing by leaps and bounds the past few years. The album is more or less what you would expect from the Daptones' family...vintage soul, classic pop hooks and just a little bit of funk. While the album certainly is listenable and entertaining, it can become a bit monotonous through certain stretches. But overall, yet another solid release from Charles Bradley and the Daptone label.
Rating - 6.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - Bradley's voice sounds like he's either 60 years old or he's smoked a pack of cigarettes every day since he was 8, or both. There is a raspiness and inherent sense of wisdom in his voice that somehow makes him credible. You get a sense that Bradley has 'seen some things.' That being said, Bradley really doesn't have much range or sense of harmony - much of the vocals comes off just as powerful spoken word. Despite this, Bradley still finds a way to add both color and emotion to the lyrics.
Much of the album is filled with clean guitar progressions, horn sections and classic soul bass lines. Opener, 'The World (Is Going Up in Flames)' is certainly a good demonstration of this. While the song is somewhat stagnant (no dramatic shifts in momentum or tempo), it's filled with subtle hooks and grooves. Helping to compliment Bradley's vocals are layers of background harmonies that provide some sort of balance.
'Golden Rule' sounds like it's going to be great as, initially, the pace picks up and there is a great swing-rhythm to it. However, during the verses the tempo comes to a screeching halt as Bradley enters in with his vocals. The pace and excitement returns for the chorus, which is brilliant, but all this really does is make the verses seem all the more awkward and out of place.
'Trouble in the Land' is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and it's an instrumental...go figure. The track dances around a solid groove as several different instruments enter and exit, delivering riff after riff, for about sixty seconds. Regrettably, the song fades into 'Lovin You, Baby' which is a slower track that completely kills the buzz I had just gotten from 'Trouble in the Land.'
Title track, 'No Time For Dreaming' is likely the album's strongest song. There are some elements of funk on this track that really don't surface on the rest of the record. Outbursts from the horn section, a few clever guitar riffs and some solid background harmonies is all Bradley needs to shine on this one. There's also a great little bridge/break-down around the 1:40 mark that displays the party-vibe this track evokes.
All-in-all, this is a great album of throwback soul music, and is entirely listenable. But for the most part, the album is somewhat boring in the sense that there isn't anything that really jumps out at you (aside from Bradley's vocals). There's no 'it-factor.' Even still, this album will absolutely resonate with fans of Sharon Jones, Lee Fields and even Amy Winehouse. It's really not as bad as I might be leading it on to be..
Take a listen to "The World (Is Going Up In Flames)"
Tracks
1.) The World (Is Going Up in Flames)
2.) The Telephone Song
3.) Golden Rule
4.) I Believe In Your Love
5.) Trouble in the Land
6.) Lovin' You, Baby
7.) No Time For Dreaming
8.) How Long
9.) In You (I Found a Love)
10.) Why Is It So Hard
11.) Since Our Last Goodbye
12.) Heartache and Pain
13.) Brother, I'm Down
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