Soul music is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Bordeaux, France. On his new album I’ve Come a Long Way, Alexis Evans set out to record songs inspired by the sounds of Bobby Womack and other soul giants. It doesn’t take long to notice that he did a pretty commendable job in getting that old soul sound.
One way he has captured that old soul sound is with his voice. Evans sings in a smooth, even voice and has mastered some of the vocal tricks of classic soul artists. Whether he’s hitting the high notes like in the album’s opening track “She Took Me Back” or punctuating a song with a Little Richard-style “Woooo!”
A lot of the songs on this album are upbeat and even a little funky. “Chocolate Seller”, for example, begins with vocals similar to The Cat Empire. Between the vocals, melody, and the organ, this song falls somewhere between The Mighty Imperials, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, and The True Loves. “But I Do” is another lively song driven by the funky rhythm section and accented with the bright sound of the horns. It’s pretty hard to sit still when you hear this one.
Evans also shows that he can handle slower tempos just as well as uptempo numbers. The title track is a slower song that is reminiscent of Sam Cooke. This song would be perfect for a couple to slow dance to in a movie scene. Speaking of movies, the closer on this album is “Rock n Roll Healer.” With the strings at the beginning and the bass line throughout the song, the tune sounds like it could just as easily be the theme of a blaxploitation film.
Evans taps into the blues with “It’s All over Now” with its classic blues bass line, but even more noticeable than that is the R&B-inflected piano that brings Allen Toussaint to mind.
This is a particularly impressive album because Evans perfectly captured the sound of 60s soul. With the horns and the organ, and Evans’ soulful vocals, the album sounds like something from the Stax catalog. It’s even more impressive when you realize he’s only 25 years old.
