Jimmy Carpenter

Another new release on Gulf Coast records and yet another storming release, this time squarely in the Blues/Soul arena.

Jimmy Carpenter has a warm voice, soft enough to sing soul in just the right manner but with enough emotion to be really listenable. Add to that a full complement of horns, keys, and a top notch rhythm section – what is not to like.

The album varies between powerful Blues and really soulful r&b – opener ‘Soul Doctor’ blasts out of the speakers at you, loaded with funk and ass-moving bass lines while ‘When I Met You’ is a gorgeous soul song with brilliant horns in the break and whispering Hammond.
As a complete contrast ‘Wild Streak’ is a really retro rock & Boogie number, great for dancing to and bloody good fun.

And that kind of sums up this release. Carpenter touches on all different areas of Blues and r&b with some superb playing by his backing musicians and a real lack of artifice or of trying too hard.
This sounds, to me, like a bunch of really talented musicians having a good time – it would work in a studio or onstage, I found myself dancing around the room with sheer fun while this album was playing.

Not much else to say. It is great fun, played brilliantly and full of the joys of musicianship. It doesn’t matter who Jimmy Carpenter is or who is playing on the album – just enjoy it for what it is.