Sometimes the headline on a one-sheet feels like the tip of the iceberg, and sometimes it feels like it might be the entire story. The headline here would be \u201cson of South Asian immigrants delivers passionate covers of soul classics\u201d\u2014but let\u2019s dig in and see what more we can find.<\/p>\n
Zeshan Bagewadi grew up in Chicago as the child of Indian American Muslim parents, listening to Indian and Pakistani music as well as his father\u2019s collection of classic blues, soul, and r&b records. Inspired by the likes of Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, and James Brown, he first served as a cantor in his mosque before joining a gospel choir in high school<\/a>.<\/p>\n On his debut album Vetted<\/i>, Zeshan applies his talents and unique musical sensibilities to a set of nine soul and r&b classics and two originals (more on that fascinating pair later). The arrangements and sound are time-warp vintage and faithful to the originals, not surprising given that producer Lester Snell has been playing on records by the likes of Isaac Hayes, Albert King, Shirley Brown and the Staples Singers since the early \u201970s. The core band assembled by keyboardist Snell and Zeshan (who mostly plays harmonium) also features scene veterans Steve Potts (Al Green, Shirley Brown, Luther Allison) on drums and Michael Toles (Hayes, King, Green, Willie Mitchell) on guitar, ensuring an authentic sound.<\/p>\n The faithfulness of the covers that make up the bulk of this album ends up being the biggest challenge the listener faces here. On the one hand, you couldn\u2019t really improve on the originals musically, so why try? On the other hand, this choice inevitably means that the main potential value added rests squarely on Zeshan\u2019s shoulders: either his lead vocals are exceptional, or you\u2019re left with an album\u2019s worth of Classic Soul Karaoke. <\/p>\n And there\u2019s your punchline: Zeshan B\u2019s lead vocals are indeed exceptional\u2014heartfelt and passionate in a way that confirms that he\u2019s gotten deep inside these songs and they\u2019ve gotten deep inside of him.<\/p>\n In interviews, Zeshan has talked about how he feels the position of Muslims in modern-day America is in many ways comparable to the position of African Americans at the beginning of the 1960s, and he sees the music of Vetted<\/i> as an expression of that common experience. The tunes he chooses to cover are mostly in that distinctive protest\/lament vein of soul, in particular the album-opening trio of \u201cLonely Man\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m At The Breaking Point\u201d (both popularized by Spencer Wiggins) and \u201cAin\u2019t No Love In The Heart Of The City\u201d (Bobby “Blue” Bland).<\/p>\n Zeshan and company also put their unique finish\u2014classic soul with a dash of South Asian flair and the occasional verse sung in Urdu, as Zeshan does on \u201cAin\u2019t No Love\u201d\u2014on other classics including swaying, horn-heavy takes on \u201cWhat Now\u201d (Curtis Mayfield) and \u201cHard Road To Travel\u201d (Jimmy Cliff), a pulsing, emphatic \u201cProve It To Me\u201d (Garnet Mimms), and luminous piano-ballad closer \u201cYou Don\u2019t Miss Your Water\u201d (William Bell).<\/p>\n Still, of my favorite moments on this album, half were sung in English, and half weren\u2019t. In the former category are Zeshan\u2019s devastating rendition of the George Perkins classic \u201cCryin\u2019 In The Streets\u201d (don\u2019t miss this remarkable performance<\/a> from The Late Show<\/i>) and a superb take on early soul hit \u201cI Keep Wanting You\u201d\u2014another song popularized by Garnet Mimms\u2014wherein at the song\u2019s climax Z unleashes a falsetto for the ages. \u00a0<\/p>\n