Stax meets Black Sabbath? Hell yes, and done really well. This week's track combines my two favorite musical genres: soul and heavy rock.
If you're not familiar with Charles Bradley, he was an amazing classic soul singer who made his breakthrough at age 62. After decades as a journeyman he finally got his break and made three amazing albums before his death in 2017, a fourth was released posthumously. If you are a fan of masters like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown then you need to check him out, he was the real deal.
In 2016 Bradley released his "Changes" album. The title track is his version of the Black Sabbath classic, a strange and seemingly out of place ballad from their fourth record. Like all of his catalog this is straight up authentic 1960's R&B. Everything from the instrumentation, production, performance is like stepping in a time machine to Memphis. It might seem like a weird combo but when you hear it it makes complete sense, and if you aren't a Sabbath fan you wouldn't know it's not his song. His raspy gritty old school voice approaches this in a tender but powerful way and the musicians all play everything right. It's a heartbreaking and exciting cover that I think would make his predecessors proud.
You can learn more about Charles Bradley here:
About The Curator - Danny Gordon
Danny's love affair with music started around the time he could walk. He spent countless hours in front of the record player going through his parents collection and experimented with playing violin, piano, and guitar before finding his voice on the bass in his teens.
Danny began playing in local bands in Los Angeles while studying music, eventually landing at Berklee College of Music in 1998. Following his graduation in 2001 Danny returned home and continued his career as a recording and touring bassist, most notably working with former STP singer Scott Weiland.
Danny continues to stay active in the local scene and is a devoted father teaching his children about the music he loves.
