Leon Bridges’ “Coming Home” evokes a fresh approach to soul.
Any music review of Leon Bridges’ debut album, Coming Home, reads like a competition to see which music critic can refer to the 25-year-old Bridges as the next Sam Cooke the fastest. (Did I win?)
The claim is bodacious, especially given the regality of the late Cooke, the unrivalled “King of Soul.” But, as Cooke famously sang, “A change is gonna come.”
It has arrived.
Coming Home isn’t the soul album of a generation, nor does it surpass Cooke by any measure. Rather, it’s the coronation of soul music’s newly crowned king.
It’s an album fresh off a 1960s drugstore corner with a slagging drum, a blues guitar, a hypnotic bass and the occasional toot from a horn.
Using his name, Bridges is a modern day architect who bridges a divide between the music of the past and the urban, yet Bible Belt sounds of today.
When the title track opens, its suitable setting is a man strolling down the street, hands in his pockets, smiling as he thinks about the way he’d treat his “girl.” Add vocals that allude to Usher croons and Bridges’ has struck his most successful commercial hit.
“Better Man,” his catchy single, is all about hums and horns. It’s a tender groove with back chorus “doo wops” and pleas from Bridges, who sings, “What can I do to get back to your heart?/I’d swim the Mississippi River/If you would give me another start.”
“Brown Skin Girl” sounds identical to a Sam Cooke cover — from the music to the lyrics and vocals. The song carries a soft, sly aura for an evening with the lights turned down low.
The most upbeat song on Bridges’ album to this point, “Smooth Sailin” offers a singing invitation for a woman to keep him company, even if he doesn’t know where their journey is headed.
Halfway through the song an electric guitar with the amp on full reverb strikes in, as if The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach walked into the recording session late and picked up with the band. The guitar’s introduction is a clash of sounds, but it works seamlessly.
“Shine” is a straightforward gospel tune, complete with an organ. “Father, please elude my transgressions/Let them blow in the wind like sand.”
“Lisa Sawyer,” a musical biography depicting Bridges’ mother’s life is the most impressive song in the 25-year-old’s catalogue. “Lisa Sawyer” highlights the band at its tightest, with horn arrangements perfect placed.
Meanwhile, Bridges tells the story of a wonderful woman born in New Orleans. “Never had much money/Money/But she was filthy rich/With the wealth you couldn’t get from a dark casino.”
Add the smooth tenor saxophone and Bridges has his masterpiece.
“Flowers” is an upbeat rumble designed to prevent the listener from sitting still. The thumping drum and hopping keyboard concoction produces a tune that could easily find its place in the Blues Brothers if this were 1980.
The next tune, “Pull Away,” is the first time Bridges gets sentimental, thinking of what could been with his beloved girl.
“My pillow bears the tears of a man in pain. I never thought I could stay. Don’t worry about me anymore, cuz I’ll be gone by the morning time.” Bridges admits his mistakes and offers his farewell address.
Take Dion DiMucci’s version of “Kansas City,” and swap Kansas City out for New Orleans and you’ve got “Twistin’ and Groovin’.” This churns like a train as Bridges heads to see his girl in New Orleans.
“River,” the album’s closer, is another gospel song. In this case, it’s about sins flowing down the Jordan River as Bridges can wash off his “bloody hands.”
It has a haunting chill when he stops singing as the backup singers carry the song until the final, thunderous chorus. “River” has a flow that never ends; a song that carries off even after the music has long since faded away.
A change has come, and Sam Cooke would have graciously approved of it. Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment for Bridges is that this is merely his introduction.
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
