Rating:
Genre:
Blues
Release Date: 07/18/2006
They didn't call the late
Johnny Adams "the Tan Canary" for nothing -- the man had one of the finest and most graceful voices in
soul music, and unlike many
R&B artists who earned some early success and cruised at half-speed into a latter-day career on a
roots-friendly indie label,
Adams' voice and his instincts about what to do with it actually improved with the passage of time. Between 1984 and 1998,
Adams cut nine albums for
Rounder Records, and you could compile several very listenable compilations from his output for the label -- which is what
Rounder has done, in a sense, as they've put together two CDs from his work for the label, one devoted to
blues-oriented material and this, which is focused on great
soul numbers. Some have said that
Adams' artful phrasing made him seem more like a
jazz vocalist than a typical
soul man, and the best of his work makes the argument seem reasonable. And like a
jazz artist,
Adams had a gift for interpreting material made famous by others --
Adams may not have been the first guy to record
"You Don't Miss Your Water," "Neither One of Us," or
"I Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home," but his versions on this disc give them the firm stamp of his own musical personality. Producer
Scott Billington was behind the board for all of
Adams'
Rounder releases, and these 12 songs confirm he was a sympathetic collaborator who created excellent settings for
Adams that boosted his soulful energy without getting in the way. This is hardly the definitive
Johnny Adams collection, but
soul fans looking for a way into his
Rounder catalog -- as well as anyone who loves great
R&B singing -- will find this very useful indeed.
~Mark Deming, All Music Guide
;)
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