Songs and albums about love are nothing new in music. Although, with as contentious as our society has become, an album about love may seem like something of a novelty. Reed Turchi’s new solo endeavor I’ve Chosen Love is an album in two parts. The first part is the one that centers on love. The songs were written and mixed in Memphis. Fittingly, the album is a combination of blues and soul.
The soul sound is apparent immediately in the opening track “Tell Somebody What Love Is,” which has a groove similar to JJ Grey and Mofro while the organ brings the Spencer Davis Group to mind.
Even the first time you listen to it, there is a familiarity about this album – the slide guitar in “Don’t Let Your Love Slip Away” has a similar sustained tone to Derek Trucks while the title track features a guitar riff similar to the one in “Love and Happiness” by Al Green. The interesting thing about this song is that, while the vocals are soulful, the guitar takes on a psychedelic sound.
The second half of the album is mostly instrumental, and it is fun to hear. “All Night Long” has the feel of a demo. It’s not that the song was roughly recorded. Rather, it feels like a demo because it just feels like the players found a groove and stayed with it. Another way it seems like a demo is that there are some words in the song, but the vocals were recorded at such a low level that you can’t really make them out. That is followed by “Hot Dog of Innuendo,” which sounds like an in-studio blues jam. At various points, you hear Turchi give some instructions to the other players.
This is a good album that is over too quickly. It gives you a good mix of soul and blues in the first half. In the second half of the album, you get to hear these talented players work their magic in the studio, and it is truly a joy.
