Charles Bradley – Victim of Love

A Piece of the Past Into the Modern Age

We live in a paradoxical culture of nostalgia. “Things were so much better back in {fill-in-the-blank},” we say – when at the time, we complained about how much everything sucked. Through Buzzfeed articles and YouTube playlists, we gather ye round to reminisce on the daily about the long-lost loves of our past – Crystal Pepsi, Full House, the Delia’s catalog. Every generation has the same primary nostalgic complaint: “Music was just so much better back then.”

If your particular musical yearnings are geared towards Motown and Otis Redding, you’re in serious luck. Charles Bradley’s new record Victim of Love is not like that Fauxtown phase from five years ago. It’s not “vintage inspired.” It’s as if Charles and Daptone Records hopped in Doc Brown’s DeLorean and cut an album in the past.

Charles Bradley, “The Screaming Eagle of Soul,” was born in 1948. He’s been performing under his real name since 2002. Before that, Charles lived the hard knock life, but eventually found a way to make a living as “Black Velvet” – a James Brown impersonator. Industry discovery, a contract and a documentary film ensued. Victim of Love is Bradley’s second full-length solo work, and it is as authentic as soul music can get. From the lyrics to the instrumentation, there is nothing that separates these tunes from golden oldies – except a good four decades.

Standout tracks include the Redding/Gaye-channeling “Let Love Stand a Chance” and the instrumental groove “Dusty Blue,” which sounds like the theme to a seventies detective film. Overall, the record is lovely and sounds like a Tarantino soundtrack waiting to happen.

So if oldies are your thing and you wish they made more of that original funky sound, congrats – you don’t even have to hit eBay for a taste of the good ol’ days. Bradley has brought a piece of the past into the modern age.