Originally published in
The Aquarian Weekly
April 30, 2008
Jamie Lidell
Jim
Warp Records
Do you remember
that first real day of
spring a couple of
weeks ago? You know,
the sun was out, and the
chill was gone from the
air. You went outside in
a t-shirt for the first
time
in months. Well that was
the first day I heard
the
new Jamie Lidell album.
It would have made a
cold, gloomy day a
little
brighter, but it made a
beautiful spring day
nearly perfect.
I think itÕs time to
make it official; there
is
a great soul revival
going on, and just when
we need it most.
Recently IÕve enjoyed
soulful albums by Was
Not Was, Duffy, and
now Jamie Lidell. Add
last yearÕs albums from
Ryan Shaw, Sharon
Jones, and Amy
Winehouse, and itÕs
hard to deny that
something is
happening. And this isnÕt
the programmed beats,
auto-tuned vocals, and
over-produced gloss of
neo-soul. This is the
real
deal.
Jim opens with the
sound of a bird-call on
ÒAnother Day,Ó and
proceeds to make it
anything but another
day. This track will put
a
smile on your face and
make you want to dance
in the street. It will
remind you of The
Rascals classic,
ÒGroovinÕ. The Rascals
arenÕt the only
influence
that Lidell assimilates
on the album. YouÕll
hear
strains of Stevie
Wonder, Martha and the
Vandellas, Sam and
Dave, and Parliament,
among others. As Lidell
says, ÒI havenÕt tried
to
hide the influences. This
is music that I love.Ó The
albumÕs first single,
the
aptly named ÒLittle Bit
of Feel Good,Ó uses
unusual instruments
(Moroccan coconut flute
anyone?) to flesh out
the song.
Jim arrives at a
perfect time of the
year,
and at a perfect time in
history. We can all use
some cheering up these
days, and Jamie Lidell
provides it.
In A Word: Joyous
Grade: A-
—by Ken Shane