In the last year or two, there has been a real return (or revival) of old school soul music of the type made in the 1960's and 70's. The Philadelphia Soul Society are certainly part of the revival: they have even got the Uptown Horns on-board to add further authenticity to their Philly Soul Stew as well as top notch production courtesy of Scott Simon and his assistant John Ashton. Yes, of Our Daughter's Wedding and The Psychedelic Furs respectively and a bunch of other Legendary and or notorious session men.
The album opens with We Can Make It. This sounds like a lost William DeVaughn cut of the sort that normally only gets name checked in George Pelecano's novels. The deep honeyed vocals make sure we can make it on our own and the orchestration on this song is great, with driving horns that make you want to sashay to it. You Got Soul is next and it sounds like the sort of thing Eli Paperboy Reed has been trying to pull off as it's all about helping out the people you see in need. In this case, that means you've got soul wrapped up with tasty horns and nice backing vocals it really needs some choreographed dance moves to go with it.
Clap Your Hands is the sort of song that live I'm sure would see Jim Hines working the crowd into a frenzy like a real preacher man; clapping along to the chorus and then trying to calm them down for the verses and allowing those brass stabs to shine through. The guitar seems to squiggle through the middle like it's an early Aretha Franklin tune been re-born and sung by a man with deep honeyed voice like an upbeat Gregory Porter who is making the joint go wild.
Ophelia is an old school love song for an ex who has gone off to live her life elsewhere, but it seems Jim would like another go and figures he can woo her with the power of song. Well, this should have her going weak at the knees once more, if not I guess she has no soul. Either way I'm finding it hard to sit still while listening to this album that does indeed turn back the sounds of time.
Don't Let Go is about a guy trying to hold onto his long term squeeze; the mother of his 4 children who are all grown up. Well, will he keep her or not? Either way, the horns are keeping him company rather than his ex-girl these days and damn what a stew they are cooking up when the piano takes over for the pleading verses. It's really sophisticated soul but he's missing his Sophisticated Boom Boom, it seems.
Today is a nice love song until the middle eight when it breaks down into a little bit of a Dr Buzzards Original Savannah Band party time feel before returning to being a good loving soul song for taking it nice and slow as it's getting hot in here.
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Too High, says the next song's title. Is that even possible here? Well of course it is and in these hands this song will make you feel higher even if you're straight. It's also the only song that sounds like it might have been influenced by Steely Dan and no that isn't a compliment. It's all a bit too much fusion Jazz/soul for my tastes, but that doesn't mean it might not work for you. Upside Down, meanwhile, takes us back to the top of the class soul with a great song about those feelings you get when the right person is with you and you need to dance away the night together. It also has the most incredible break down with a great horn solo and then some nice upfront backing vocals.
Sunday Coffee slows things down like it should be fine to listen to even if you have a hangover and need that Spanish guitar part to sooth your pain away. It's another nice plea for a little loving from a lady in Montana. Will he go and run off with her or will he just need a real Sunday morning come down with his Mocha latte?
Waiting sees Jim dreaming of the woman of his desires and he is brewing up a real soul stew to woo her. He's not begging and pleading exactly but he is certainly asking her to be the one. Never Gonna Leave is just the sort of song you'd expect with a title like that and lyrically it is a touch too close to a certain R**k As***y song for comfort but it's still a nice slow soul stirrer.
Hands Up is an anthem for these troubled times: a call for sane policing and gun laws in the States so no one else gets killed for no good reason. This should be on mainstream playlists everywhere to get the point across. It's a great modern political soul song in the mould of What's going On-era Marvin. A fine performance with some great percussion. The album then closes with what could be a re-working of an old Neil Young song but Lessons Learned is more than that and it's a gentle piano -ed song to make sure we all remember to learn from our mistakes and try to leave the world a better place.
Find out more at Philadelphia Soul Society online
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