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STILL LOVIN’ YOU
(Vanguard)
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This album is a breakthrough for the Detroit-based, Alabama-born traditional soul singer. It spurns the passages of rock flash and slick production that made his earlier discs fall short of emotional touchdowns. Songs like "Virginia" and "All I Wanna Do" are simple poetry, and Bradley’s big muddy vocal tones break and dip in all the right places, so even his most obvious rhymes take on deeper meaning. The most affecting number is "Anna," a loving father’s ode to an absent daughter that’s driven by Bradley’s own slow-played piano chords, accompanied by spare, sweet, jazz-inflected electric guitar. The stark instrumentation and Bradley’s lingering vocal delivery lend the tune a palpable, touching sense of devotion. A version of Sam & Dave’s ’60s hit "I Thank You" kicks hardest, with the weathered cypress character of Bradley’s singing providing a shot of soul that compensates for Sam Moore’s virtuoso pipes. And "Hollywood," with its lines about pathological liars, personal trainers, and cellphone culture, sounds like a sarcasm-dipped page ripped from his own experience with major labels. Whether it’s thanks to the stripped-down arrangements or his own hand on the producer’s console, this time Bradley’s richly recorded vocal performances and heartfelt songwriting elegantly converge. (Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise play Harpers Ferry in Allston Friday, February 6. Call 617-254-9743.)
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