Feel The Funk

Blue-eyed soul is nothing new and with Amy Winehouse and Adele leading the way, it’s not even retro anymore. Fortunately, that doesn’t make Jamie Lidell’s Jim any less original or enjoyable. Lidell spends less time than his fellow Brits singing the blues, focusing more on the upbeat funk and R &B styling that could’ve worked just as nicely in the sixties and seventies as it does now.

Jim’s sound harkens back to a time when one would rush to the record store to buy the latest in vinyl, without being derivative. Lidell puts his own spin on songs like “Wait for Me,” which is doo-wop for the new millennium, and “Where’d You Go,” a song with a baseline and piano that makes one imagine his band wearing pompadours and clad in big lapelled jackets, alongside him. “Little Bit of Feel Good” and “Figured Me Out” capture the familiar old school, funk-inspired guitar of the seventies.

The aptly named, “Hurricane” is a frenetic and rambunctious standout: the kind of song that makes people want to get up and dance. When Lidell slows it down with the ballad “All I Wanna Do,” his vocals really sell it with a falsetto that would make Terence Trent D’Arby jealous.

Lidell and his longtime collaborators Gonzales and Mocky have created an album that showcases Lidell’s soulfulness and versatility. While it’s inspired by popular past genres, Jim showcases Lidell’s powerful vocals and sensibilities. He belongs in the same company as his well-known contemporaries.