Good soul music is like a full body high…you know…for those of you familiar with that kind of thing.
When I hear the guitar lick and those drums start to shuffle, I just go all gooey in my guts, my feet start to twitch and my legs start to bounce. And then, I’m just waiting for the voice. You can’t have just any voice in soul music, though. This voice has to blow. It isn’t just a voice that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up, it’s a voice that grabs you by the scruff of your neck, stares into your eyes and tells you the story of the pain that created it.
I’d never heard of St. Paul and the Broken Bones until a few weeks ago, when a co-worker of mine came back from Savannah Stopover Festival absolutely geeking out about their performance, several clips of which she used to blow up Instagram. In those 15 second bursts, however, I could hear a soul band full of life, tight as a drum with talent to spare. The real McCoy. I then found a couple of video clips online that settled any doubts. The first, just a live recording in a warehouse, showed me how truly tight the band was, how musical and how organically they played together. It’s only the really good bands that do that.
The second was a live performance of “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)” by Otis Redding, my favorite Otis song since I first laid ears on it in 1995. You can’t sing it halfway. You have to commit to it, fully. You have to let the story seep into your innards and possess you. You’re trying to keep a woman from leaving, for goodness sake! You gotta PLEAD! Lead singer Paul Janeway pleads. My God, the man pleads, and when the song really takes him, he just falls on his knees, possessed by the mantra, “can’t stop the love, can’t stop the love, can’t stop the love….” It’s beautiful to watch, and forced me to swallow a little harder and wipe my eyes a few times before I hit replay and watched it again.
Janeway’s voice was formed in the church. And, raised on gospel music, it’s no wonder he found that sound that Al Green so masterfully discovered: a wail from the back of the throat, easily shifting to a fading whine when the music falls, rising to an irrepressible howl as the climax builds. He’s a true soul voice, and I imagine he’ll only get better with time, as will the snap-tight rhythm section behind him. It’s a great combination, one I won’t miss it if they decide to visit Savannah again.
Check out their debut album, “Half The City” on Spotify, or buy direct from their store.