NICOLE WILLIS & THE SOUL INVESTIGATORS: A PERFECT KIND OF...
posted by O.W.
Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators: No One's Gonna Love You + Soul Investigators Theme
From Keep Reachin' Up (Timmion, 2005)
You need this album. You just do.
I'd say - "I slept on this" - but in all fairness, even if the album came out in 2005, it's on a
I'm willing to go on record as saying that this among the best "nuevo-soul/funk" albums I've ever heard (a field that may seem small but actually covers a lot of ground including Sharon Jones, the Dap-Kings, The Whitehead Brothers, El Michels Affair, etc. What distinguishes it is how versatile both Willis and the S.I. are: there's a real attempt at covering a range of R&B eras/styles here - not just the JB/Marva Whitney/Lyn Collins era of the late '60s but there's nods to the pop sound of early '60s girl groups ("My Four Leaf Clover"), Brook Benton-esque crossover soul of the mid-60s ("A Perfect Kind of Love"), the lush, heavily produced style of '70s soul ("Feeling Free"), and a few tracks that I don't even know how to classify ("If This Ain't Love"). I don't think Willis has as strong a voice as someone like Jones but in terms of her ability to adapt to different styles, she does a fantastic job here and her songwriting also seems a step stronger.
The two songs I picked out are my favorites - both highlight the strength of the Soul Investigators chops as a band, especially their "Theme" which has this beautifully dreamy vibe to it but as good as that is, I'm even a bigger fan of "No One's Gonna Love You" which takes a great song and then pushes it up a notch with a chorus that's unexpected and for that reason, completely delightful.
Did I mention, you need this album? Yeah, ok.
Speaking of mind-blowing, I just posted this to Soul Sights, but fortheloveofgod, you have to check out this video of New Edition playing "Candy Girl". I n c r e d i b l e.
Labels: songs of obsession, soul/funk
