One of the most important things in blues, R & B and soul is
\nto never forget your roots. While it is always important to move
\nahead with the music, you should always maintain a solid knowledge
\nof (if not a foot planted in) where you came from.<\/p>\n
Take Syl Johnson. A veteran of the R & B scene, Johnson has
\ntasted success before in his career, and has, for the most part,
\nenjoyed a fruitful career in the music industry. When he returned
\nto music in 1993, it was on his terms. His second release since his
\ncomeback,
\nBridge To A Legacy<\/i>, showcases some powerful modern rhythm
\nand blues, as well as the pitfalls that can occur when merging old
\nand new schools of thought.<\/p>\n
Johnson (the brother of bluesman Jimmy Johnson, who we just
\nreviewed a few days ago) is a powerful guitarist and a decent
\nvocalist, though I honestly can’t hear any traces of harmonica on
\nthis album (unless I’m listening to this disc way past my bedtime,
\na possibility I’m willing to admit to). Songs like “Who’s Still In
\nLove” (complete with a sudden, surprise ending) and “Unconditional
\nLove” demonstrate the power that Johnson has over his self-penned
\nmaterial. (All but one of the songs on
\nBridge To A Legacy<\/i> were co-written by Johnson.)<\/p>\n
Johnson tips his hat to the younger generation on this album on
\nhis duet with young bluesman Jonny Lang. The track “I Been Missin’
\nU”, the album’s first single, is a strong performance from both old
\nand new, with each performer helping to accent the other’s
\ncontributions. Likewise, Johnson’s daughter Syleena gets a turn in
\nthe spotlight on “Half A Love,” though one has to wonder if it
\nwould have been a stronger song had she been the only featured
\nvocalist on the track. (Something just didn’t seem right when
\nJohnson came in with his vocal halfway through the song.)<\/p>\n
Johnson’s roots in the history of R&B shine forth on tracks
\nlike “Midnight Woman,” and songs like this make you wonder why he
\ndidn’t become as popular of an entertainer as someone like Marvin
\nGaye. It almost seems like Johnson pays tribute to the 1983-era
\nGaye on songs like “Let’s Get It On Again” and “Sexy Wayz,” the
\nlatter reminding me of some of Gaye’s more suggestive material.
\nSadly, this particular track serves only to break the mood of the
\nrest of the album, and feels quite out of place. (The drums on this
\ntrack also sound sampled, something I can’t verify on my
\npre-release copy of the disc. If they are indeed sampled, it’s a
\nwaste; drums were meant to be live and crisp.) But for each weaker
\nperformance like “Sezy Wayz,” there are tracks like “They Can’t See
\nYour Good Side” which bring out the best in
\nBridge To A Legacy<\/i>.<\/p>\n
The biggest drawback to the album is that it does take some time
\nto get used to Johnson’s style of R&B and his delivery. Once
\nyou do (and it takes about two listens to truly appreciate it – at
\nthat point, you hear the similarities between the brothers), it
\nmakes the time spent a worthwhile investment.<\/p>\n
\nBridge To A Legacy<\/i> is not always the easiest disc in teh
\ngenre to get through, but it does showcase an artist who now might
\nbe on the brink of earning the fame he should have had long
\nago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7514],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-39250","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-syl-johnson","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39250"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}