Soul Express Album of the MonthDecember 1997
Buy this album from our CD Shop
WILL DOWNINGInvitation Only(US Mercury CD, 1997) 1) Island 2) All about You 3) Angel 4) I Don't Want to Lose You 5) Eternal Love 6) These Things 7) If She Knew 8) Personal 9) If I Could 10) Come to Me 11) When Sunny Gets Blue 12) Before We Say Goodbye We have now had 6 albums from Will Downing, and the man returns with a MONSTER album crammed from start to finish with no-holes-barred quality soul music tinged with jazz that is completely without parallel. Although there are those who continuously knock the man's output, all I can say is that Will Downing knows what he does best, and he simply keeps on doing just that. Make no mistake - this an unmissable album. The list of musicians and guest vocalists are a whose-who in the world of both soul and jazz: Ronnie Foster, Marcus Miller, Luis Conte, Darl Simmons, Jonathan Butler, James "D-Train" Williams, Gerald Albright, The Yellowjackets, Audrey Wheeler...need I go on? The quality is not compromised from the lush arrangements and quality vocals at all. The first track, Island, is a real ear-catcher, tropical and tender, enriched with live percussion and real instrumentalisation. Just superb! All About You is a contemporary soul number through and through, leading nicely into the gorgeous swayer, Angel. As usual, Will partakes in a cover version or two, the first of which is his cover of The Spinners' classic I Don't Want To Lose You. Here, he is departing from the style of Thom Bell in favour of a fully orchestrated jazzy backdrop.. The other, When Sunny Gets Blue is truly mature, lazy and luxurious throughout. This is such a good album that no amount of words can applaud it enough. All I can say is that it is truly sophisticated, without a doubt, and appeals to those with an ear for timeless quality and longevity.
The Latest CD Reviews Albums of the Month in 2008 Albums of the Month in 2007 Albums of the Month in 2006 Albums of the Month in 2005 Albums of the Month in 2004 Albums of the Month in 2003 Albums of the Month in 2002 Albums of the Month in 2001 Albums of the Month in 2000 Albums of the Month in 1999 Albums of the Month in 1998 Albums of the Month in 1997 Other CD
reviews |