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Critical Voices: Charles Bradley, Victim of Love

April 4, 2013


There are a couple of things you won’t believe when you first slap Charles Bradley’s second record, Victim of Love, on the turntable.

The first is that the gravelly, pained voice coming through the speakers is that of a 64-year-old. The second is that the record wasn’t released by Stax in 1968.

Victim of Love follows the same game plan as Bradley’s first LP— 2011’s breakout No Time For Dreaming. It’s all hard-charging, funky soul music that’s both true to its roots and adventurous. Even more than Dreaming, Bradley’s latest release proves he and his band are much more than Soul Revivalists. They’re the ones pushing the genre forward.

Bradley’s emotive voice is what sets him apart from the generations of soul singers before him. At first, it’s almost unpleasant—hard-edged and strained. But it conveys the pain and loss of a broken heart better than any other in show business, with an authenticity that can only come from Bradley’s hard-luck life of odd jobs, occasional homelessness, and the murder of his brother. One listen and you understand why he’s called “The Screaming Eagle of Soul.”

Bradley’s backers, the Menahan Street Band, are an extraordinary instrumental group in their own right, regularly sampled by hip-hop artists like Jay-Z and Kid Cudi for their inventive rhythms and blaring chords. Here, they are as tight and tasteful as ever on more conventional soul tunes like “You Put The Flame On It” and “Crying in the Chapel.” But, they also venture out, bringing some hard funk psychedelics to songs like “Confusion” and “Love Bug Blues.”

If there’s a weakness on this album, it might be the repetitive, matter-of-fact lyrics. To some, the lack of clever wordplay may signal a lack of imagination. But Bradley’s not that type of musician. He’s a blunt guy looking to communicate his sorrows and tribulations directly, and doesn’t seem to have the patience to beat around the bush.

Victim of Love is another reminder that Bradley’s musician-run label, Daptone Records, is among the best in the business, eschewing all digital recording technology to capture an authentic soul sound. So, if you can appreciate not just soul music, but music with soul, put down the James Brown LP for a minute, because Charles Bradley is proof this art can thrive even in the age of Calvin Harris.

Voice’s Choices: “You Put The Flame On It,” “Crying in the Chapel”


Gavin Bade
Gavin Bade is Managing Editor of The Georgetown Voice


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