With Changes, all of these elements come together to create the perfect vehicle for Charles Bradley’s nostalgia, passion, and raw soul. But for the time being, there’s a lot to love about Bradley’s persona, his beautifully-pained voice, and his support from Daptone Records. It’ll be interesting to see how the perception of Bradley’s work ripens in the coming decades. Perhaps Charles Bradley’s life story- a nostalgic love letter to a faded genre-is what really makes him stand out. Though never “new” sounding, each of the eleven tracks on Changes feel strong and diverse enough to give the album a “Greatest Hits” feeling. It all complements Bradley nicely, and you never get the sense that either he or the backing band is struggling to steal any airtime. Before Charles Bradley died in 2017, he recorded Changes for his album of the same name, and his version also appeared in the first season of the HBO series Big Little Lies. “Changes” and the sunny “Nobody But You” are propelled by a blaring horn section “Ain’t Gonna Give It Up” and “Things We Do For Love” roll into a deep, funky groove the spunky, guitar riff-led “Ain’t It a Sin” keeps the energy of the album flowing at the half-way point. It would be a disservice to overlook the backing instrumentals that fill out the sound, provided by the Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band, and occasionally Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens. each of the eleven tracks on Changes feel strong and diverse enough to give the album a “Greatest Hits” feeling. The music video recognizes this fact too-it features nothing but a close up of Bradley’s face as he reacts to his own song. By Andrew Thompson on Friday, April 1st, 2016. Perhaps the best example of Bradley breathing (and pleading) fresh emotions into old lyrics is the title track, his rendition of Black Sabbath’s “Changes.” The chorus washes over you, a simple chanting of “I’m going through changes,” yet Bradley’s voice tells so much more hurt and longing in the subtext. Andrew Thompson enjoys the soulful delivery on Bradley’s latest release. The jacket is bigger and much easier to insert the record. Hes taken his show to venues and festivals across the globe including Coachella. Mastering is slightly punchier than my 2016 pressing, but they are fairly similar. His lyrics, often about the cruel mistress that is love, can veer into cliché, but Bradley delivers them with enough genuine feeling to make us see the constant truths in old ideas. Charles Bradley has made a name for himself as a riveting live performer. Listening to Changes-Bradley’s third and arguably most solid studio album yet-those six decades of struggle before his eventual triumph allow the singer to boomingly proclaim emotional highs and lows so extreme, you can’t help but feel this soul.Įverything’s a vessel for the real star of the album: Bradley’s voice, which screeches and yelps with enough gusto to turn James Brown’s head, before rumbling and crooning out blues that could make B.B.
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