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Deep Southern soul

Picking up the Pieces
Picking up the Pieces
By Elvin Spencer

Goldwax / Ichiban Records: 1996

Buy it on CD now from Amazon.com
Buy it now


This review first appeared in the August 9, 1996 issue of the North County Times.

Elvin Spencer is part of a whole musical universe invisible to the Hollywood moguls – the Southern, sensuous black soul/blues singer. Spencer's new CD hearkens back to an era when Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye seduced the listening public with their velveteen vocals caressing suggestive lyrics. Small labels in the South, like Malaco and Ichiban, have kept this tradition alive.

Spencer delivers sexual innuendo and double entendre with a deep eroticism that cuts past the mush and superficiality of modern romance. He's also got a world-wise humor that brings it all together. The backing musicians are of the first rank, the songs are all better than average.