Soul Express CD Review

This is the sort of album that Kenny Lattimore should be making. Vocally Brian Moore is a dead ringer for Kenny Lattimore, and musically this is a LOT better than Kenny’s past two albums. This is a rather interesting album. I get the feeling it is very personal, and within the smoothness of Brian’s presentation there bubbles what feels to me like real l pain and melancholy. There is an aura of loneliness and even anger. Brian is an excellent, honest and expressive singer and pirouettes from smooth and soulful to tortured and rough, he is vibrant at times with a real, raw passion.

Not all songs are to my taste, and some eyebrow-raising language and some graphic situations spoil the odd track for me. That aside, these matters are mere trifles when we have more than a handful of quality songs to enjoy. I will start off with the bubbly title song, "My World". Once I got past the electronic Kenny Everett Captain Kremmon computer voice we are treated to a spine-tinging intro to a smashing and atmospheric song; futuristic, airy and as fresh as a mountain stream.

After being impressed by this I was very much taken with the superb modern head nodder "My Life (Baby It’s You)" which, again, is better than anything Kenny Lattimore has done in almost 7 years. This should have garnered some decent radio play on quality radio yet I have not heard it. This is a pity, and I urge you to give this track a definite listen. "If They Know" is rather a brooding number, a shade off key and even more haunting for it as far as I am concerned. This bass-laden heavy number is tempered by Brian’s smooth vocal and impassioned delivery. I really loved "U Choose" because of its late 80s feel, but I was upset by the blatant sexual content. Call me a prude if you like, but I am afraid I am more from the "leave it to the imagination" school of thought than the "this is how it is" school of thought. Musically it is excellent but I doubt whether the National Viewers & Listeners Association would like this!!! LOL.

Anyway, enough of that. I have to watch my blood pressure, and there’s nothing better than a good old sensual interlude and an even better song to follow, so I was pleased to find "Interlude" and "U Ain’t Right" which brought matters back to the centre ground. "Same Ol’ Thing" is a fantastic track and contains some great keyboard that are the same as Kiara used for "Always" back in 1990. With me, Brian is onto a winner with this. His vocals are excellent on here and prove how soulful and real this gentleman is. Should anyone doubt this, I would seriously recommend track 10, "Somebody Told Me". This Paul Minor and Damion Johnson penned song is simply amazing. It’s a sneakily addictive song. The backing music, comprised of a lazy, sexy beat and wah wah guitar are gelled together with some haunting synth and drunken strings which result in a progressively dramatic track that climaxes in a powerful, raspy vocal performance. Here we have a tortured lover who laments the loss of his love, the disbelief of his lady moving on, having a child and a home and the agony of not being over her. Brian rips with a lot of power and there is some real gritty soul from the heart here. You will not find many new artists with such passion, fire and power than Brian on this track. This sort of song and this type of singer is what makes soul music the music that defines me.

Although the CD only credits 11 songs, there are in fact 13. I have no idea what these are called, but I would suggest that track 12 is called "The Way Life Goes". This is an ultra-soulful, basic acoustic number that is essential as it is melancholic. I love this sort of song, and Brian handles it very well indeed. It is easy to mess up a number like this, and believe me many do. I really like this album, and as I say, some of it doesn’t fare well with me, but as I always say, that is just me. The best judge of any album is your own set of ears, so on that note please check out this album for yourself. Highly recommended.