Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
Experience is at the heart of professionalism; life at the very centre of a good story or lyric and understanding the very point of music; bring all those facets of a person’s ability together and what the result might look like is Gregory Porter. It certainly won’t sound like the one of the Jazz/Soul greats of the modern age for nobody can be as remarkably clear and beautifully astute as him and in his new album, Take Me To The Alley, all that refinement, class and specialist insight comes rushing out to greet the listener in all its abundant glory.
When people talk of meteoric rises, what they forget is the pain staking approach or years of dedication, certain denial or constant abuse they inflict upon themselves in the search for the perfect scene, the right note or word in the right place and which can only be delivered with loyalty to their craft or absolute devotion to the cause Whilst Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit gripped the nation, and rightly so, Take Me To The Alley is more fundamental, more aggressively contagious and wonderfully infectious.
In many ways the album alludes to a different time, despite being hugely relevant to today’s crowded genre. It straddles the two distinct times, much delved in new millennium, post golden age, and comes up trumps, so much so the comparisons to the late and much missed Marvin Gaye are inevitable, two men at the very height of their respective powers in their chosen field producing astounding music at the right time; Take Me To The Alley is to be seen as an equal footing with the tremendous What’s Going On.
The songwriter’s gift is just that, a present from within, passed down the genes and honed and harnessed by experience; a person who never leaves the house, finds love, heartbreak and renewal can ever produce such songs and in tracks such as Don’t Lose Your Steam, Consequence Of Love, the alluring More Than A Woman and Fan The Flames, the groove is undeniable, the charm is unquestionable and the sense of life is categorical and fulfilling.
Take Me To The Alley is gorgeous, unflappable, moving and a belter, it is an incontrovertible truth that nothing sounds real unless it comes from the heart and the song of experience; Gregory Porter frames that truth to a storming conclusion.
Gregory Porter’s Take Me To The Alley is released on May 6th.
Ian D. Hall