Another Exquisite Album of Retro-Soul Powerhouse Anthems
In their 10-track album, Special Night, Lee Fields & The Expressions transport the listener to a ’70s red-velve-lined intimate night club somewhere in Harlem. Opening song “Special Night” sets the club stage with mysterious, trance-inducing arpeggios before dropping into an all-out soulful sound. With lyrics like “every night is a special night when I’m with you,” the theme of this Special Night has been set. Tracks like “Work to Do, “Never Be Another Man” and “Let Him In” are slow and soulful, with strong brass features and lyrics about love and relationships, but in a more yearning manner than some of the funkier tracks.
“I’m Coming Home” and “Lover Man” are more funk-based and danceable—at least at a faster pace. These tracks display more current takes on funk music; “Lover Man” and especially “How I Like It” even being more reminiscent of today’s funk rock scene consisting of groups like the Black Keys and Alabama Shakes. “Make the World” drives forward with a steady bass beat and is a call to action to “make the world better if we come together.” “Where is the Love” really stands out, featuring a lot of different musical textures. It stays funky yet adds a jazzy, psych-rock feel throughout the track with it’s slammin’ pentatonic scale bass line throughout the track. The album closes with “Precious Love” which again makes use of the pentatonic scale and ends the album on an incredibly vulnerable note, with a declaration that Lee Fields is “gonna hold on to this precious love.”
Special Night soulfully illustrates the dynamic of relationship, and feels appropriately soul-bearing and personal. It brings forward the fleeting and euphoric feelings that love evokes in us at first—the challenging times, the dangerous and exciting times, and reminds the listener just how precious it is to give and receive love—openly, freely, and soulfully. If you’re a fan of retro-soul, you’re in for a Special Night.
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