Niceup.com,
CD Review
>>
I'm unfamiliar with Soulive, the band for which Toussaint used to be lead singer. Given that group's name and the fact that Toussaint's debut solo album Black Gold is being touted as a combination of Caribbean roots and American soul, one can, however, reach certain conclusions about where he's at musically. Me, I took the easy route and just listened to the disc. Black Gold is, in short, as good as gold. If this is what reggae infused with soul sounds like, then let's have more of it. The core of the music is unmistakably Jamaican drums and bass with guitar or keyboard usually chopping away on the off beat, while much of the outer sweetening is more suggestive of Stax or Motown. And a few songs, most notably the title track, put aside the reggae beat for more of a slow-jam mellowness. But nothing breaks the flow. Certainly not the concluding "Rain Again," sporting an accompaniment of kora and grand piano that comes across like African chamber music. Toussaint's got a rich, humble vocal style, perfect for confessional tunes like "Conquering Cocaine" and "Nobody Knows" or such a smooth statement of intent as "Roots in a Modern Time" (which would make an ideal subtitle for the album). Instrumental and production support is provided by key players from the I Grade crew, who lay down a blend of roots roughness and studio spark. In a just world, Black Gold would go multi-platinum. 09/13/10
>> go there
|