Customer Reviews

Jim

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Born in Cambridgeshire rather than the Deep South, Jamie Lidell nevertheless has a remarkable soul voice, reminiscent of Otis Redding's. He began his career on the underground techno scene but, way before Duffy, Adele or Amy Winehouse, he was emulating the sounds of Stax and Motown.
His latest album is his best yet, buzzing with a sunshine funk that Stevie Wonder would be proud of (notably on the ebullient single, "Little Bit of Feel Good").
"Wait for Me", with its boogie-woogie piano and gospel vocals, is typical, lending a 40-year-old songwriting template a sheen of sassy modernity.
Like a New Age Stevie Winwood, Jamie has his own joyful road to the elixir of Stevie Wonder-sourced synthesised soul. The first taster from his forthcoming eagerly anticipated second single, "Little Bit Of Feeling Good" is as slinky, suave and downright superb as homegrown UK dance gets.
Jamie's vocal charm presents riches aplenty - elastic pitch, melodic purring, peachy phrasing - and the minimal funk backdrop, sashaying horns and rainbow-coloured back-up harmonies make this a true gem.
Signed to the hip electronica label Warp, and counting Feist and Gonzales (who plays piano here) among his pals, the Berlin-based Lidell would be expected to produce something pretty cool on his third album. But where its predecessor fused laptop beats with retro styling, Jim is an all-out stomping soul album. In its favour, the tunes are tight, and Lidell has a great soul voice.
It retains a keen sense of nostalgia, a sharp sense of style and mixes influences to generally pleasing effect. By the singer's own admission, it's a promiscuously diverse collection that mixes up gospel grooves, sweetly sung soul, delicate balladry, thumping early R&B, synthed up disco and even a little 'hillbilly funk'.
My picks: "Out Of My System", "All I Wanna Do", "Little Bit Of Feel Good, "Where D'You Go" and "Rope Of Sand".

Solo Piano
The Reminder
Back to Black
19
Rockferry
Nine Lives

If you haven't already made the acquaintance of left-field electronica label Warp's most unlikely artist, "Jim" is the ideal introduction to Jamie Lidell, a nerdy techno boffin who emerged from his chrysalis on breakthrough album "Multiply" as a consummate old-school soul showman, pulling off his musical throwback pastiche as effectively as Amy Winehouse.
Where Winehouse is bluesy and melodramatic, Lidell's music is more celebratory and infectious, though the gorgeous "Rope of Sand" touches on the sorrowful serenity of What's Going On-era Marvin Gaye.
Elsewhere, Lidell actually appears to be channelling Sam Cooke on "All I Wanna Do" and Al Green on "Green Light", while the electro-funk of "Figured Me Out" and pacey rhythm'n'blues workout "Hurricane" should get the crowd on their good foot.
"Jim" appears to be an honest approach from the accomplished musician, covering many everyday issues such as the confusion of emotions. And the record is a concise one, never detouring from a backbone made up from unabashed good feeling and trumpet-driven bluster.
Whether the subject matter is talking, listening, hurting or longing, the delivery - clipped and concrete - is there. For the majority of this album, his directional, well-paced verses serve him well.
The first thing to say about "Jim" is that it is unashamedly summery. Lidell's intentions are laid down in stone on "Another Day", brimming with sunshine bright pianos and an absurdly feelgood outline. Orchestral trumpets drive the cut along well. Most clarity is provided at the junctures where the performer truly unleashes himself, giving credence to that wonderfully grainy-but-polished set of lungs.
" Wait for Me" exudes a bandstand eccentricity hitting all the highest notes, "Out of My System" supplements xylophone spine shivers with an irresistible hook. Single "Little Bit of Feel Good" is archetypal Liddle, this time backed by gospel voices to deliver blissfully glorious melody.
Jamie's reputation among the cognoscenti has been as a maker of experimental electronic music. But God gave him a voice which seems to emanate from the southern states of the USA circa 1964 - a cross between Sam Cooke and Otis Redding.
Stylistically, this is where the music sits too, though with the kind of electronic twist you would expect of an artist with Lidell's pedigree
Throughout, the obvious comparisons to Stevie and Otis, Sam Cook and Al Green abound, a little something "Jim" can outlive.
Lidell has lit the touch paper, history will tell if he ignites the flames.
As said above, it's a genuine updating of the brassy, sassy, occasionally gospel-tinged soul music of the Stax era, along with a sprinkling of Stevie Wonder, the odd excursions into Jamiroquai-like funk territory with "Figured Me Out" and a nod towards Sly Stone/Al Green in "Green Light".
It's clever musically, but it wouldn't work without the compelling quality of that voice, which would be enough just of itself to make us sit up and take notice of Jamie Lidell.
Back to Black
Multiply
Muddlin Gear

This CD is a whole lot more than "A Little Bit of Feel Good," which is not only getting a lot of radio-play, but also appeared on both "NCIS" and "Grey's Anatomy" in the past few weeks. Though Jamie Lidell's a British bloke, he's got a voice straight out of the 1960's South. He's been likened to everyone from Marvin Gaye to Sam Cooke. My understanding is Lidell came from techno, but I have no experience with his previous music--but you better believe I'm going to check it out!

Standouts for me: "A Little Bit of Feel Good" which will get you up on your feet with it's uptempo beat and gospel groove. "All I wanna do" a bluesy ballad. "Green Light" which adds a techno groove over what could have been an Al Green song.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2008

I think it is painfully obvious to anybody who is paying attention to music these days that the latest trend in British music is white artists singing songs in the vein of throwback 50's and 60's soul music. We need not look any further than artists like Amy Winehouse and faux doo-wap girl groups like the Pipettes to see less-than stellar examples of this burgeoning neo-soul genre. With that being said, the only artist who successfully pulls off the throwback sound with any genuity, in my opinion, is Jamie Lidell. While his debut album Multiply far exceeded most people's expectations, one of its major problems was that there was just a little too much genre-hopping for it to sound like a cohesive record. The best songs on that album by far were the ones that truly captured that 50's soul music flavor, but there were a few too many bad wanna-be-Curtis-Mayfield-circa-Superfly tunes for it to sound genuine. However, it seems like he went into his sophomore album keeping the best of what worked on Multiply and leaving behind what didn't. From beginning to end, Jim sounds like it could've been recorded when Motown ruled the radio, yet it still manages to sound contemporary too. The first three tracks on the album are the upbeat songs "Another Day," "Wait For Me," and "Out of My System," which effortlessly capture the mood of the late greats Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke without feeling forced or trite. But I've always felt it's the ballads where Jamie's genius truly shines. His voice is like absolute butter on the slower soulful tunes like "All I Wanna Do" and "Green Light." For anyone looking for an accomplished neo-soul CD that lives up to the hype, then look no further than Jamie Lidell's Jim. You won't be disappointed.

Jamie Lidell is one of those artist that broke into a little bit of mainstream by being used in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. His last album Multiply was an absolute piece of art. It evoked the spirit of old time funk, a little motown, and rock and roll. This album is surely focused a little more on Motown. Jim is more polished a lot softer and happier. These songs could have easily been from a past time period. The songs are well written and very well performed. Any fan of Motown would surely fall in love with this album.

I love this CD! It's faithful to the style of old school R&B. Great for driving around in your car on a warm summer day!

I first noticed Jamie Lidell on the Craig Ferguson Show. He totally rocked that performance! Immediately after the show, I went to Amazon and purchased this album. It reminds me of the great funk and soul artists of the 70's - Earth, Wind and Fire, Smokey Robinson, Temptations, etc... The album runs the spectrum from "mellow funk" to "take no prisoner rock". I have recommended the album to everyone that I know and they are all fans! If you like retro funk music, you will love this album too!

I got to catch this guy live on Austin City music festival, I had never heard of him prior. His performance was so good I decided purchase this cd. I must say he ranks quite high on my most enjoyable 2008 cds. As many of the other reviews stated he has a great SOUL voice. i hope he has great success and keeps up the great releases. I dont have a favorite song yet, because they are all so good it has been hard to pick.

After hearing one track from JIM, I took a chance and bought the CD....no regrets. From the moment I put it into my CD player, his soulful melodies and amazing voice threw me back to an early Stevie Wonder. I was playing it in the background at a party, and everyone was asking about it was because he was so awesome. A few songs sound a bit similar, but I still recommend this CD.

I bought the CD after hearing only one of the songs. I figured the rest of the CD probably wasn't as good but I was wrong! They are all good songs and my family and I are really enjoying them. Even my kids (10 and 7) like them!