Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Released a decade after his landmark debut album 'The Headphone Masterpiece', this 2012 offering from Atlanta-born singer/songwriter Cody Chesnutt is another milestone in a sporadic but satisfying career. Recorded with a 10-piece band at Royal Studios in Memphis (where Al Green laid down the seminal "Let's Stay Together"), there is an overriding '70s feel to proceedings with punchy brass, silky strings and a super-tight rhythm section accompanying Chesnutt's crooning vocals to give off reminiscences of the aforementioned Green, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye at the height of their respective powers. Whilst never being too literal, Chesnutt alludes to his Christian faith from the word go in the delightfully airy song of redemption "'Til I Met Thee" whilst the likes of "Don't Wanna Go The Other Way" talks about resisting the temptation to stray from the straight and narrow. Elsewhere, tracks like "What Kind Of Cool (Will We Think Of Next)" and the blues-tinged "Under The Spell Of The Handout" are intelligent slices of social comment whilst "Love Is More Than A Wedding Day" sees Chesnutt giving out relationship advice without every becoming preachy. In short, a diverse and highly polished release from one of the music world's most intriguing and inventive artists.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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