candi staton - his hands
you know those old dj shadow and soulsaver mixes in recent years such as brainfreeze and fear and loathing on the wheels of steel, which dig out long forgotten soul classics and revive the love for proper old fashioned sounding music, well that case of 'they just dont make soul music like this any more' can no longer be applied. as this new album by soul legend, candi staton, is exactly as it should be, sympathetically beautiful production, by lambchops mark nevers, recalls those 60's classics perfectly, though of course in full fat stereo as opposed to the mono scratched up discs of old. horns are treated with love and tenderness as opposed to being all digitally enhanced, strings (heart and musical) are pulled, and the central focus on the piano suits. as is necessary, the mood throughout these 11 songs is downtrodden but not broken, down beat but not depressing, and proves that there is still unfathomable depths within candi's vocals. with new songs especially written by such names as merle haggard and will oldham the album will hopefully kick start people into tracking down music with more passion, depth and integrity than on offer from todays so called soul divas.
a perfect perfect album for people who cant get enough of those $tateside reissues.
out on honest jons records at the end of march