There is no denying, soul music is making a comeback and thanks to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Bamboos and many more like them a younger and younger audience is continuing to hear about this legacy.
British singer Alice Russell is at the forefront of this movement, but her sound is different. It’s not a direct rip off of 60s soul and funk. She is an artist that brings the essence of that music into the 21st century.
One part 60s soul siren one part chic cocktail barfly Russell certainly has found herself a steady fan base and ‘Pot Of Gold’ is unlikely to disappoint them.
Russell’s voice does tend to lack the soul of some of her contemporaries. She is a very good singer, but just stops shy of greatness at times struggling to really channel that deep feeling that separates the girls from the women.
Soul music is renowned for straightforward lyrics, but Russell’s tend to lack the subtlety of the greats.
Compare Aretha Franklin’s reworkings of ‘Do Right Woman’ and ‘Respect’ - both originally misogynistic songs written from a male perspective. She turned these simple songs into anthems celebrating womanhood with such subtle tweaks, while Russell presents us with “I got a hunger/I got a hunger/I got a hunger/I got a hunger/I got a hunger/I got a hunger” in the song ‘I Got A Hunger’.
Russell can’t be faulted on her ability to rework a song though. Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy’ appears on this record (the one song that actually does have clever lyrics) and while this song has been covered a million times before, Russell puts her spin on it pretty damned well. After all, it was an appearance on British soul-jazz group Nostalgia 77’s record covering The White Stripes’ ‘7 Nation Army’ that Russell first was noticed - and with good reason.
It is this crap lyrics-interesting music conundrum that makes this album somewhat intriguing. The music includes influences of pure jazz, show tunes and even those god-awful Cafe Del Mar “chill out” compilations which make an interesting combination of sounds.
This is not an album for soul music purists, but it is worth a listen. It’s far from the perfect album, but you could sure do a lot worse. It might not provoke any thoughts, but it might just make you shake a butt-muscle or two.
