23 July | Exit 07 | Soul, R&B

Having bungled my scheduling completely on Saturday at the Blues n’ Jazz festival, and contrived to miss the one act that I was really interested in seeing, Leana Sealy, our small group sought refuge with a couple of pints of Belhaven Best in a well known Scottish pub in Clausen. Is it just me or was the whole B&J thing a bit sedate? The organisers seem to have solved the problem of overcrowding and claustrophobia by spreading everything out more widely, and at the same time dissipating any nascent atmosphere. But hey, maybe you can’t have everything.

As things gradually start to wind down now, and gigs and other live events gradually begin to dwindle prior to the ’down tools’ period which is the month of August, we move seamlessly from Sealy, a very talented vocalist who’s not afraid to take standards from the past and reinterpret them, to another singer who is probably as well known for her respectful covers as her original material.

Leela James had the good fortune to grow up in a house with a dad who was an avid collector of soul and R&B records from the sixties and seventies. James still cites the likes of James Brown, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, Mavis Staples, Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye as her main influences, and it shows.

Hers was a career which suffered from one of those false starts which can account for the majority of less determined souls. Her initial record label was absorbed by Warner Brothers and her debut album, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, which she largely co-wrote, got lost in the shake-up for nearly four years before it was finally released in 2005. The title of the album, a homage to the Sam Cooke song of the same name, set down the marker for where James was coming from musically, namely a subtle, respectful updating of American soul of the sixties and seventies, and if that’s the kind of music that rings your bell, you should own it. James went a step further with the albums main single, ‘Music’ which left no doubt about how she felt about the state of contemporary R&B/hip hop and its predilection for ostentatious wealth and misogyny:

“Where did all the soul go?
It’s all about the video
We don’t sang no mo’
Where’s the music gone?
Where’d the music go?
It’s all just for the dough
It ain’t songs no mo’
Where’s the music gone?

Still hear Donny playin’ them keys
Sangin’ one day we’ll all be free
Can’t even turn on my radio
Somebody hollerin’ bout a bitch or a hoe”

Amen to that!

The album was critically well received, but sales were poor and James left Warner Brothers afterwards signing to Shanachie, who earlier this year released the long awaited follow-up ‘Let’s Do It Again’. The album is a collection of covers featuring tracks by Womack and Womack, Curtis Mayfield, Al Green, The Rolling Stones, and a stunning version of the James Brown track ‘It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World’.
Since 2004, James has toured with the Black Eyed Peas and Macy Grey, duetted with Ray Charles and most recently appears on Moby’s new album ‘Wait for Me’. If she’s good enough for Macy and Ray, she’s good enough for me. Go see.

Starts 20h - €22

Leena James at Exit 079.3103