(Q Division/Shock)

More proof positive that anything old can be new again

He’s white, he’s from Boston, and he was born a decade or more after the era that produced this genre’s legendary performers, but that hasn’t held back Eli “Paperboy” Reed. He’s plunged headlong into the heart of classic ‘60s soul, so much so that you could almost imagine this 11-track album had been unearthed from some historic record company vault in one of the soul capitals of the day. With his seven-piece band The True Loves providing a stirring-but-steady backing worthy of Booker T & The MGs with the Memphis Horns, Reed seems to have channelled the ghosts of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and other equally significant soul singers of that time. If you doubt that, check out his stylish intonation, whether pleading or in full wail, on tracks like The Satisfier, Take My Love With You and It’s Easier – they sound so authentic and right they have vintage stamped on them, even though not one of the songs is an old cover. Okay, maybe you’d be better off going back to the original sources to experience soul power in all its glory, but Reed’s respectful revival does a pretty good job of selling it to a new audience.  

***½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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