So I do hope to have my favorite albums of 2003 post completed sometime before 2005. But in the meantime, how ’bout an early candidate for the 2004 list?

It’s the new album from New York City’s Holmes Brothers, Simple Truths. It’s the finest soul/old school R&B album I’ve heard since the resurrected Solomon Burke-Joe Henry collaboration in 2002 (with apologies to Joss Stone, who is also very good, and made co-Agitator Bryan Westhoff’s year-end list).

Simple Truths stretches the borders of soul from every corner of the genre’s influence — from funk to gospel. Blues to country. R&B to rock n’ roll. The original cuts are inspirational but secular, spare but meaty; warm morsels of comfort music, bathed in Wendell Holmes’ spot-on, soft-touch guitar, and animated by the gravelly vocals of Popsy Dixon (who sounds like something betwen John Hiatt and Keb ‘Mo) and Sherman Holmes. Try the righteous track three, “We Meet, We Part, We Remember.”

Next up for praise: the album’s eclectic collection of covers. The band dirties up Hank Williams’ “I”m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” then slows way down Townes Van Zandt’s “If I Needed You.” They bellow out Willie Nelson’s “Opportunity to Cry,” boogie to Bob Marley’s “Concrete Jungle,” and, believe it or not, even rock pretty convincingly on Collective Soul’s “Shine.” I’m not kidding on that last one. Also, don’t miss the mournful rendition of the standard “He’ll Have to Go.”

Weaving throughout the tracks are graceful gospel-influenced harmonies, some masterful musicianship (David Filch — borrowed from the wonderful jazz guitarist Bill Frisell — plays bass), and oak-solid, deep-roots, no-frills blues.

Goes well with a glass of wine, a toasty blanket, and outside temps in the single digits.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2004 at 8:40 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.