Sam Cooke is my
favorite singer of all time. His warmth, music, vocal range, tones – all of it
was and is perfect, and his is the voice by which I judge all of my other
favorite singers.
All of this is
perhaps why I was at first a little unsettled, then incredibly delighted, when
I heard Leon Bridges, because, holy shit,
does he channel Sam Cooke.
Bridges' debut
album, Coming Home, is a homage to
Cooke and other artists of the era who built soul music into the genre we know
today. Bridges has the voice, the instrumentation and the confidence to conjure
up a legend without sounding like he's just ripping him off, and even if the
album doesn't break any new ground, it establishes Bridges as a talent to
watch. It just so happens to be perfect summer music, as well.
The best two
songs on the album are opener "Coming Home," and closer
"River," which allow Bridges to plant his feet firmly in the romantic
and spiritual side of soul music. Timelessness is what Bridges is going for,
and he's certainly on the right track. His judicious and exhilarating use of
guitars, horns and backing vocals all contribute to expand the sonic world
Bridges' lives in.
"Coming
Home" shows just what Bridges' voice can do when, after the fuzzy guitar
and backing vocals of the opening, most of the sound drops away and his honeyed
voice echoes out through the void. It's a goosebump-inducing moment that the
track builds on, never getting too far away from that sweet soul spot. It is
completely understandable why it was chosen as the first single for the album,
and serves as a fantastic gateway to the sound Bridges is aiming for.
You can't quite
say "River" is Bridges' shot at something like "A Change is Gonna Come," but it certainly shows Bridges has his eyes on creating
something that will stand the test of time. The song features just an acoustic
guitar, a tambourine and fantastic gospel vocals (including a sublime female
vocalist at the end, whose voice works beautifully with Bridges). This is
probably Bridges' finest vocal work on the album, and he sends his voice
soaring with lines like, "In my darkness I remember/Momma's word reoccur to
me:/'Surrender to the good Lord/And he’ll wipe your slate clean.'" It's a
spiritual song in the same way "A Change is Gonna Come" is, and while
there is no overtly political reference, there's a weariness and desperation
for forgiveness that is gut-wrenching. It's a prime example of the power of
American songwriting, both tapping into the past and projecting out into a
timeless future.
Don't get the
impression the rest of Coming Home is
filler, because there is a lot to love about the eight songs between the
beginning and the end. There's almost a punk ethos to the album (which is
actually a soul ethos) in that it cranks by at just over half-an hour. The
songs somehow race by at a leisurely pace, and there's only two that hit the
four-minute mark. Bridges still manages to pour buckets of fun into each, including
the swinging "Flowers" and shuffling groove of "Brown Skin
Girl." None of these songs would sound out of place in a 60's sockhop, but
they all sound so warm and lived in, that they're just a comfortable now.
I'm a major
sucker for "Lisa Saywer" (a song either for or about his mother), which has this smooth groove thing down
pat, and the track is carried by some truly gorgeous saxophone work, while
Bridges' voice drips all over the damn thing like honey. The song has some
call-backs to Cooke's "Only Sixteen," but is far more relaxed than
anything Cooke ever did. It shows Bridges' can take familiar sounds, and push
them in different directions.
Coming Home
is going to be just the start for Bridges, and if he can channel more of the
contemporary sounds all around him into his influences, he could easily build a
new soul sound for everyone to use. Just like Sam Cooke did.
Coming Home is
out on Columbia.
Also recommended this week:
Kacey Musgraves'
stunning sophomore country album, Pageant
Material.
Cayucas' take on
70's yacht rock, Dancing at the Blue
Lagoon.
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