Battle of the Beats
Who Played the Fool Better?
As we continue to ponder
the impact of the recent influx of artists drawing heavily from the
Motown and 60s soul sound and it's impact on the contemporary music
soundscape, it's always good to hear some good cases-in-point. Amongst
the growing number of musicians whose associated hyperbole is always
rooted in their sounds being "unearthed," or "transported from the
60s," or "[insert soul legend] influenced" are Jamie Lidell and Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves.
Aside from their obvious similarities, they also both lovingly mine
this classic sound and interpret it through their own music to great
effect. Only on his latest release, Jim, has Lidell dedicated an entire LP to this style of music, a type in which Reed's debut album Roll With You is grounded. In this Battle of the Beats the competing tracks grapple with foolishness through gravelly balladeering and dragging instrumentation. "Game For Fools" is from Lidell's earlier album Multiply (2005), and "(Am I Just) Fooling Myself" can be heard on Roll With You, released this year. Which take on foolery brings the mood down farther and better?
Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves: "(Am I Just) Fooling Myself"
Jamie Lidell: "Game For Fools"
Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves [Official][MySpace]
Roll With You [Amazon][iTunes]
Jamie Lidell [Official][MySpace]
Multiply [Amazon][iTunes]
Tags: audio, eli "paperboy" reed & the true loves, jamie lidell
Comments
Both are really good. Paperboy is testifying more for me. The horns, the instrumentation, lyrics and vocals are bluesy and boozy all @ the same time.
sdg1844 | August 21, 2008 9:27 PM | PermalinkYou might want to take my vote with a grain of salt because I'm an unabashed Lidell-stan, but I like "Game for Fools" much better. I'll definitely have to check out the rest of Eli Reed's album, but "Fooling Myself" seems a little more affected than Jamie's track.
felipe anuel | August 21, 2008 7:16 PM | Permalink