A Change Is Gonna Come＜White & Gold Vinyl＞

"Music," the first song and lead single from Leela James' first album, bemoans the death of music. She reminisces about Aretha, Gladys, Tina, and Chaka, and asks, "Can we just put the thongs away?" Her argument is flawed and tired. All four inspirations released new material during the early 2000s, and James is the latest in an extended line of artists, stretching from American Idol to any anonymous keyboard lounge on the East Coast, claiming to rescue real music. James should turn off BET and go to a record store: issue solved. The remainder of A Change Is Gonna Come -- named after the Sam Cooke song, covered here -- isn't nearly as nauseating, thankfully enough, even if it retains a nostalgic tint. James has the stature of a woman who should possess a squeaky voice, but she sings with demonstrative grit. More importantly, she doesn't see her inspirations merely as artists to mimic; she sees how they learned from the past and applied it to the present. The past is built upon (if only a little), rather than simply revisited. Kanye West, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, and James Poyser are in on the action, giving James the kind of apt support she could've only imagined prior to recording the album. There's plenty of thematic range, whether there are blue lights in the basement, tears on the pillow, sweat on the dancefloor, or sun showers on the porch. Hopefully listeners won't hear all those names during "Music" and get the idea to listen to Lady Soul or Ask Rufus instead. ~ Andy Kellman

2年ほど前にリリースが告知されていた、LA出身レディー・ソウルのアルバムがようやく登場。で、これがグウェン・マクレー“Funky Sensation”をベタ使いした12インチ・シングル“Good Time”で煽られていた期待感に余裕で応える快作ときた。名裏方であるコミッショナー・ゴードンを筆頭に、ラファエル・サディーク、ジェイムズ・ポイザー、カニエ・ウェスト、ワイクリフ・ジョン、アヴィラ兄弟、チャッキー・トンプソンなど、歌モノに真価を発揮するプロデューサーの助力を得て、リーラは〈女アンソニー・ハミルトン〉とでも言いたくなるディープかつハスキーがかった歌声で無遠慮に歌い込む。表題となったサム・クック曲やノー・ダウト“Don't Speak”といったカヴァーも上出来で、極めてソウルフルでありながらフィールドを超えて活躍できそうな万能性もある。ジャケットに騙されても正解な、実にオーガニックな内容だ。
bounce (C)林 剛