"The finest slice of vintage-sounding, piano-and-horn-powered funk we've heard in some time." XLR8R
"Cash powered soul music? straight outta the Marvin Gaye book of city soul." Dazed & Confused
"The finest slice of vintage-sounding, horn & piano-powered funk we've heard in quite some time. We're not usually big on nostalgia parties, but if you can't enjoy few laps in the 'I Need A Dollar' pool, you're officially dead inside." XLR8R
"Criminally infectious." Hit Fix
"Wonderful." L.A. Weekly
Good Things is the 2nd album for California native Aloe Blacc, released by Stones Throw Records.
Following on from his well-received debut album, Shine Through, also on Stones Throw, the Good Things album marks a shift in methodology from personal to political for Aloe, who refers to the project as his report on present conditions.
Names such as Gil Scott-Heron, Gnarls Barkley, Marvin Gaye, Bill Withers & Curtis Mayfield have been bandied about in describing Good Things, but Aloe is a true modern original, telling today's stories with an eye towards positive social change.
Song titles such as You Make Me Smile & Miss Fortune, coupled with airy, ethereal production from Truth & Soul Records' main-men Leon Michels & Jeff Silverman mask a foreboding undercurrent in which Aloe crafts deep lyrics both thoughtful & thought-provoking.
Nowhere is this more evident than on lead single & massive cult track, I Need A Dollar - commissioned by HBO as the theme music for the smash hit US TV series How To Make It In America.
For Fans Of: Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Mayer Hawthorne, Bill Withers, Gnarls Barkley, Sharon Jones?
Performer Notes
Personnel: Aloe Blacc (vocals); Leon Michels (guitar, saxophone, keyboards); Nick Movshon (guitar, drums); Tommy Brenneck, Luke Riverside (guitar); Garrett Devoe (acoustic guitar); Entcho Todorov (violin); Garo Yellin (cello); Michael Leonhart (trumpet); Aaron Johnson (trombone); Toby Pazner (piano, vibraphone); Jeff Dynamite, Homer Steinweiss (drums).
Audio Mixers: Clay Holley; Jeff Dynamite.
Recording information: Soul Fire Studios, Brooklyn, NY.
Photographer: Dan Monick.
All the promise of his debut comes true on Aloe Blacc's sophomore release, Good Things, a vintage sound meets modern problems release with a way too modest title. Right from the opening "I Need a Dollar" -- which could be passed off as unreleased Bill Withers, no problem -- the album offers grand things, providing listeners with that solid, but not polarizing, style of social commentary Withers perfected. On the following cut, positivity is pushed ("Something special happened today/I got green lights all the way") in a manner that's far from sugary, but this singer who offers such warmth and humility on his smooth soul tracks is well aware of sin, and can get slinky in a Al Green style when warning against loose women on "Hey Brother." An even better example of this is his cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale," which becomes much more than a clever choice, thanks to a convincing performance that suggests he's been there. The organic production, real horns and all, is left up entirely to the Truth & Soul Productions crew (Jeff Dynamite and Leon Michels) but Blacc's delivery is less traditional with phrasing and some slang left over from when he was a 24-7 rapper. Anyone with a taste for neo-soul should try Good Things unique flavor. It comes on familiar and comfortable and becomes more rich and rewarding with every return visit. ~ David Jeffries
Professional Reviews
Mojo (Publisher) (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Most striking of all is a bewitching cover of 'Femme Fatale,' recasting the Velvets' dark ballad as a slow-burning deep soul torch song par excellence."
Pitchfork (Website) - "GOOD THINGS is well-constructed and boasts some inspired touches..."
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Reviews
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Aloe Blacc's CD was reccommended to me by Amazon and I'm glad for the pointer as I'd probably have missed this otherwise. I love his rich tenor voice.
With a retro Soul sound remniscent of Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye, his lyrics touch mainly on social issues. Opening cut is the groovy "I need a dollar" with darting horns, an insistent piano riff, and lyrics told from the view point of someone laid off. "Green lights" is organ-driven Soul, while the guitars in the funky "Hey brother" sound like they stepped out of Shaft.
Other standouts are the lilting Reggae "Miss fortune", the falsetto-sung laid back "Life so hard" (with theatrical strings, a great echoing guitar solo, and lyrics touching on hunger, war and more), the breezy "Femme fatale", the bouncy "Loving you is killing me" (with nice layered harmonies), "If I" ("If I sang a song, would you sing with me / if I shed a tear, would you cry with me?"), and the Gospel-tinged "Momma hold my hand" (with autobiographical lyrics remniscing on his childhood).
The production is light and free, perfect for this uplifting CD. Highly reccommended!
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