When someone older than 60 gets the chance to release his debut album, then he probably a) hasn’t had the easiest live and b) well deserves it. This assumption proved itself right in the case of Charles Bradley. The singer, who was born in Florida and grew up in Brooklyn, lived like a nomad for most of his life and traveled the whole country in search of work, but never got any further than being a part-time musician. This way, there was plenty of time for him to collect enough frustration and disappointment in order to turn it into creative energy, but also to meet interesting people. Thomas Brenneck, guitarist, producer and band-leader of the Menahan Street Band was one of them. Booom! It is the year 2011 and James Brown, who got Bradly hooked on music at his Apollo Theater gig in 1962, is alive, indeed. Maybe not as energetic or not as fidgety, there’s not quite as much sex anymore and maybe a bit more sorrow, but all that full of a wonderful roughness and intensity. The Menahan Street Band chaps are fabulous and masters of their trade, anyway, which makes their arrangements be even more fascinating. This is one powerful piece of soul-music. »Why is it so hard to make it in America?«
Sho-Nuff
Body Pressure
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