As recently as two years ago, the Modfather was becoming an easy listening irrelevance. With risible covers album Studio 105, he plumbed depths not reached since The Style Council, and one began to wonder just where the fire in his belly had gone.
Thankfully, he rediscovered it with last year's storming, punky single From The Floorboards Up, and the excellent opus As Is Now. This release proves that was no fluke, and that he's still in a rich vein of form. Confident enough to toss it away as a one-off single, he sounds brimming with vigour and vitality.
While it doesn't exactly explore new ground, it's the kind of brooding, R&B beast that he does so well. It won't set the world on fire, but it's heartening to hear a genuine legend spitting and snarling his way through three minutes as if he means it more than ever. The career retrospective Hit Parade may be due for release, but there's plenty of life in the old dog yet.
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