Soul Express CD Review

“Surrender To Love” was one of THE highlights of 2003, and songs such as “So Far Away” and “Stars” were absolute gems that epitomised what REAL soul music is all about in the 21st Century; the return to real singing, production and real instruments. I have eagerly awaited a follow-up set and here it is in 2005. By comparison with much of today’s releases this fares very well indeed, and far better than anything the so-called R&B crowd could even try and do. However, when you compare this with their debut set we are left lacking. There is too much reliance of programmed beats and new grooves which are too much of a sap to the hip hop crowd for my liking. Some of this reminds me of Lina’s “Inner Beauty Movement” album, and it really does not strike me.

“Thru Love” is very nice, but lacks any of the individuality that we expect from Aja Graydon and Fatin Dantzler. “Turn It Up” follows suit and is shadowed by a better, if programmed hip-hoppy “Do You Remember”. I guess the guys are trying to appeal to younger ears on this album, which is not too bad an idea, but I get the feeling that the steam and oomph just is not within the production of this album.

However, my first real winner is the lovely “Where Would I Be”. The jazzy music is attributable to George Benson’s “Ode To A Kudu” and the beautiful, thoughtful lyrics show us how close the couple are, and how deep their lyrics are. This is a lovely track, but why sample music when they have previously used real musicians? Odd.

I was also struck by the down to earth, homely and real lyrics of “Woman First”. How many mums can associate with this? Countless, and again showcases the duo’s immense talent for being able to ‘think outside the box’ with regards to love and relationships. From here we have an eerie, excellent smooth groove called “Let It All Go” which is too short for me. The synth is haunting, and the guitar works well too. Fans of 80s funk will warm to “Sneak A Freak” with its freaky keys and punching horns.

Rapper Easy Mo Bee is responsible for the nice “As Of Yet” but again relies on an old Dexter Wansel / Cynthia Biggs sample for its backdrop. Yet again where are the real instruments? India.Arie guests on “Struggle No More” which is a nice socially-conscious track. She herself has an album due on Motown later this year, so may be an indication of what it will be like. Better than the last one, I hope.

Easy Mo Bee from Rappin’ Is Fundamental returns on the excellent 80s funker “Who’s Gonna Comfort You (Definition)” and does some business here. Nice strings, too! The standout song? Has to be “My Time”, I think. This is more like what we would expect from the duo: real instruments … warm Rhodes, live drums, strings and piano. This is what we want, no synthetic R&B / Hippity Hoppity stuff. This really does cut the mustard this track and this alone makes the album an essential purchase.

The title song gently floats by with strings, acoustic guitar and more real instruments. Yes, this is more like it! In short, this is a disappointing follow-up album but still very worthwhile. More for younger ears, I think, but enough on here to satisfy us real music fans.
- Barry Towler