Johnnie Taylor falls into the category of soul singers whose talents outweigh their commercial legacy, but “I Got To Love Somebody’s Baby” is an incredible cut from his debut Wanted: One Soul Singer that begs to be heard. It’s not just the incredibly raw recording, or the scene-setting guitar intro. Taylor has an incredible ability to bend words to his will, no longer just a description, but the actual events themselves. Co-written by Stax Records stalwarts Isaac Hayes and David Porter, “I Got To Love Somebody’s Baby” is a bluesy narrative of a lover done wrong, a man who’s “got to love somebody’s baby/ cuz somebody, somebody, somebody, sure been lovin mine” and while the band is in peak form, like so many other great soul songs, it’s the vocal performance that drives it to perfection.
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The one-two punch of “Greatest Hits” and “The Hale Bop” make Mystery Jets’ Radlands one of the better albums of the year so far, a worthy exploration into 70s stylized rock and roll that has been sorely lacking in popular music.
For a British based band that made waves in 2008 with Twenty One, a record with a decidedly 80s synth pop sound, the radical departure in style would often spell disaster, yet Radlands manages to run the gamut of 70’s rock from Neil Young’s heartland Americana to David Bowie’s grunge-glam rock with great results.
“The Hale Bop” is such an example of Mystery Jet’s excellent reinterpretation of what made Bowie so great in the 70’s, a charismatic vocal performance, great guitar melodies and a frenetic groove.
RIYL: David Bowie, Neil Young
Radlands was released on April 30th, 2012 on Rough Trade Records.
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Nashville, TN based Natural Child plays the kind of scuzzy bar rock that took a left turn out of 70s Rolling Stones, The Faces, and David Bowie (think Exile on Main Street, “Stay With Me” and Ziggy Stardust) and “8 AM Blues” might be one of their best singles to date. The first song off of their fantastic 2012 LP For The Love of the Game (which boasts a quite NSFW album cover) , the no frills fuzzy guitar riffs and the hell if I care vocals make this one of my favorite songs for the summer. I’m also throwing in “Ain’t Gonna Stop”, the song that closes out the album with a raunchy take on the classic “Johnny B. Goode” riff. This is the kind of stuff you wish early Rolling Stones R&B sounded like, Natural Child has a bright future ahead of them, and these are perfect songs for those nights where all you remember is the smell of whiskey and smoke on your clothes from the night before.
Ain’t Gonna Stop – Natural Child
Listen to For The Love of The Game on Spotify
Buy the digital version of For The Love of the Game on iTunes
RIYL: The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, The Faces
For the endless deluge of indie bands out there that have tried to follow through on the sounds like Talking Heads witty world pop mantle (see Dirty Projectors, Vampire Weekend), UK transplant Theme Park are looking like the best challenge yet, though with an updated sound. It’s really “Milk” one of their first singles from their upcoming debut album (due out in August) , that nails down the frenetic David Byrne vocal with some nice energetic dance-floor indie pop a la Hot Chip. However, if “Jamaica”, their latest single proves anything, Theme Park is no flash in the pan and they know how to write a catchy summer hook.
RIYL: TV On The Radio, Talking Heads, Phoenix, Hot Chip
The Art of the Mixtape 