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Once home to such soul and R&B luminaries as Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, The Staples Singers and Isaac Hayes, Stax Records went bankrupt in 1976. Following the reactivation of the label in 2006—under its new owner, Concord Records—the modern funk/soul/jazz group Soulive scored big-time, becoming one of the first artists (along with Isaac Hayes and Angie Stone) to sign with the revived label—and rightfully so.
The latest album from the now-quartet—soul/reggae vocalist Toussaint joins the trio of Eric Krasno (guitar), Alan Evans (drums) and Neal Evans (keys)—No Place Like Soul, the first recorded with a vocalist since the band’s formation in 1999, is a fitting launching pad for the new Stax. Over the course of 13 new tracks, Soulive delivers the goods with typical style and attitude, expanding on their vigorous instrumentals with deeper harmonies and tighter song structures.
The album opens with “Waterfall,” an upbeat stomp that quickly establishes Toussaint as a major contributor to the band’s new sound. With a plaintive voice that evokes blues and soul legends of eras past—Eddie Floyd and Jimmy Hughes leap to mind—the singer uses simple but poignant lyrics to explore familiar R&B themes of love, regret and emotional pain and joy.
“Don’t Tell Me” emerges from the trailing end of the opener, maintaining the energy with Tousssaint’s smooth delivery and a perfectly integrated talk-box guitar from Krasno. Though “Mary” slows the pace, it’s a well-constructed soul tune that sits nicely alongside the equally appealing “Callin’.” Outrage” jumps out of the gate with Krasno leading the way over the ever-reliable rhythm of the brothers Evans, and features the most substantive work from one of the most explosive guitarists on the jazz or funk scene today.
After the laid-back vibe of “Morning Light,” the album—with the exception of the delicate “Kim” that closes it—concludes with a string of rousing tracks that exemplify the band’s impressive range. “Yeah Yeah” oozes the funky, fuzzy rock of “Flash Light”–era Parliament or the best of Funkadelic, while “If This World Were a Song” begins like vintage Bob Marley and morphs into dub territory, rich with the pristine production that prevails throughout the album. “One of Those Days” features hints of Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor, as well as tasteful background vocals, a hallmark of the album as a whole. Near the end of the crescendo of “Bubble,” the atmospheric, jazzy penultimate track, Krasno finally tears into one of his long-awaited scintillating guitar solos.
Certainly, a relative dearth of Krasno is a small quibble with No Place Like Soul—a major step forward for the band, and a winning choice for classic R&B fans and new converts alike.
