Tuesday, March 23, 2021

James Holvay: “Sweet Soul Song” (2021) CD Review


In these uncertain days, there is an undeniable appeal in music that takes us to a different time. James Holvay’s new EP, Sweet Soul Song, with its classic, soulful sound, does just that. This release features all original material from the man who is best known for his songwriting. He wrote and co-wrote pop hits like “Kind Of A Drag,” “Don’t You Care” and “Hey Baby (They’re Playing Our Song),” all of which were recorded by The Buckinghams. Here he also demonstrates his talent on guitar. Joining James Holvay on this disc are James Manning on bass, Stu Pearlman on keys, Les Falconer on drums and backing vocals, James Graham on drums, and Cliff Curtis and Ron Douglas on backing vocals.

The EP opens with “Working On It,” which features a good rhythm and a nice guitar hook. In this song, he sings to a longtime romantic partner: “Girl, I know it ain’t been easy/Living with me for so long/And we’ve had our disagreements, baby/Some right, and some oh-so-wrong/You see, I was young and foolish/And I didn’t appreciate what I got/So I took your love for granted, baby.” And when he sings, “But now I’m older, baby/And I’ve learned from my mistakes,” we can hear the age and experience in his voice, and so we believe everything he has to say here, and we can’t help but silently urge the person he is addressing to give him that one more chance he’s asking for. We’re all working on it, aren’t we? Trying to be better people, especially for the ones we love, the ones who have stayed with us even during our darker days. There is a hopeful tone here, a positive vibe, making us feel that it is possible for all of us to improve ourselves.

The EP’s title track, “Sweet Soul Song,” is a tune that takes us to Chicago in the mid-1960s. It is a song of innocence and music, mentioning “Duke Of Earl” and Curtis Mayfield in its lyrics, and capturing the joys of a time that should never really be the past. “And we fell in love (fell in love)/As we danced ‘til dawn/And we fell in love (fell in love)/As the night played on/To a sweet soul song.” Those lyrics should apply to folks now as well as then (well, at least as soon as this pandemic is over). That’s followed by “Still The Fool,” which directly mentions the past in its opening lines: “Twenty years ago today I overheard you say/That you didn’t love me no more.” This is a mellower, pretty number with a string section arranged by Duane Benjamin. In this one, he tells us, “I’m still the fool/I’ll always be the fool.” He is not alone in feeling that way.

The joy is apparent right from the start of “Love Has Found A Way,” a song that James Holvay wrote with Gary Beisbier, who also co-wrote “Don’t You Care,” “Susan” and “Hey, Baby (They’re Playing Our Song).” This track has a great rhythm that seems designed to lift our spirits and get our bodies shaking. It is a delightful, optimistic, bright number, just the thing to keep us from dropping into despair. “Yes, love has come to rescue me/Ah, listen to me now/I’d been spending all my nights alone/My heart is mending because you’ve come back home.” James Holvay keeps those bright vibes alive with “Talkin’ About,” a love song which concludes the EP, one that includes hand claps. “She makes me feel just like a man/Accepts me for who I am/She doesn’t change my ways/Plan my days.” And how about these lines: “The girl’s got so much class/Never wants to spend my cash/She always pays the check/With no regret/And never brings up the past.” Those lines occur approximately halfway through the track, and after them, the song kind of kicks in. It is interesting, for before that, it has something of a relaxed, low-key vibe. And at that moment, the joy seems to grow and spread and become stronger leading to the end of the song. It is also interesting that that comes right after the words “the past,” for this whole EP is a revisiting of an earlier time, or at least a look back.

CD Track List

  1. Working On It
  2. Sweet Soul Song
  3. Still The Fool
  4. Love Has Found A Way
  5. Talkin’ About

Sweet Soul Song is scheduled to be released on April 16, 2021.

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