|
Jamie Lidell's reputation has largely been built on the back of his
Supercollider partnership with Christian Vogel, his well received
Muddlin' Gear album for Warp and some spectacular recent live performances,
all of which have built Multiply into an eagerly anticipated album.
It doesn't disappoint, and despite an obvious affinity with the music of
Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder and Prince, retains a
fiercely individual sound. This is partly due to Lidell's virtuosity in the
studio, an expanded drum sound adding real depth to the funkier tracks. The
principle reason for buying this album, however, is his voice.
From a whisper to a full-throated yell, he also demonstrates remarkable
control at times, conveying intense emotions as if it was the easiest thing
in the world. The title track, where Redding's influence is at its keenest,
is a case in point, Lidell singing "I'm so tired of repeating myself"
before breaking into a smile at the end of the chorus. The searching final
track, Game For Fools, is Lidell laid bare, crooning almost helplessly
toward the end.
When he chooses to funk things up the results are astonishing. When I
Come Back Around is a superb P-funk stunner, Lidell's studio drum track
securing exhilarating fills and the vocal layers overlapping perfectly -
one to wig out to on the dancefloor. Even the extended keyboard solos seem
like a good idea! Meanwhile the blustery funk of Newme is fronted by an
evocative sax riff, straight out of Harlem.
The slower tracks work well too. A Little Bit More finds the singer
dissecting the end of a relationship over a low, throaty backing vocal and
the sort of bass heard booming from car stereos. What's The Use? reveals
his penchant for a good lyric - after enquiring, "What's the use of
figuring it all out?" he declares, "I'm a walking talking question
mark".
It's interesting to compare Jamie Lidell with his British white soul
contemporaries, and revealing to note that nobody seems to be pushing the
funk in quite the same way at the moment. The most obvious comparison is
Jamiroquai, whose latest album is nearly upon us, but it's difficult
to imagine him funking things up as well as this, hard to see the
boundaries being pushed with quite such a compelling urgency. Lidell can
achieve all these things - his is a rare talent, demanding to be heard.
Comments
|
 |
|
SINGLE:
more