[.ca] S.O.S. Save Our Soul

From Amazon.com:
It's difficult to fault Marc Broussard's intentions in releasing this collection of mostly covers as the follow-up to his 2004 breakthrough Carencro. He's intent on showing his roots in the uplifting soul music that he clearly loves. However, it's too early in his nascent career to be going the Rod Stewart route. Broussard's committed, grainy voice works well with these R & B standards and obscurities, even if the arrangements generally stick close to the originals. Yet he can't help but come up short singing timeless classics such as Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues," Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long," and Al Green's "Love and Happiness." Broussard is more convincing uncovering hidden nuggets such as Bobby Womack's slow dance "Harry Hippie," Rance Allen's gospelized "Let the Music Get Down in Your Soul," and the frisky funk of Stevie Wonder's "You Met Your Match." He also dusts off Blood, Sweat & Tears' "I Love You More than You'll Ever Know," sweating out the tune's inherent soulfulness. Toby Lightman swings into Tammi Terrell's part for a peppy, finger-snapping take on the sweet Gaye/Terrell duet "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You." Not surprisingly, Broussard's sturdy self-penned ballad "Come in from the Cold" pales somewhat in this heady company. It does, however, show his songwriting abilities haven't diminished, even if he apparently needs more time to compose another album's worth of his own material. --Hal Horowitz

Brilliantly soulful... with a retro vibe.,:
Some may say Marc Broussard is washed up at the tender age of 25. "Carencro", his 2004 release on Island Records, sold 230,000 copies, an enormous total, in his native south Louisiana, that draws a yawn in the million-selling world of pop. Now Broussard follows with an 11-song CD that has only one original. The covers, masterpieces by soul heavyweights like Otis Redding, Bobby Womack and Marvin Gaye, would prove fatal if attempted by amateurs. But Broussard, raised on soul and swamp pop, feels right at home. The disc features Broussard's soulful voice tackling Al Green's "Love and Happiness", Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long", Bobby Womack's "Harry Hippie" and "Respect Yourself" by the Staple Singers. The CD's lone original track , "Come In From the Cold", maintains the old school R & B vibe. After "Carencro" , singer and guitarist from Louisiana Marc Broussard was critically acclaimed and got great visibility and airplay mostly for his fantastic single "Home". It is down and dirty blues, his voice a deep baritone in the choruses, and nothing but purely cool. Yet, it is the only song on the album with that particular vibe. "Rocksteady" and "Where You Are" are pop perfect, but it's difficultt to understand how they all went together other than the connective tissue that is Broussard's soulful voice. Now, with his newest effort and one that is particularly close to his heart, Broussard is hitting his stride. "S.O.S: Save Our Soul" is comprised completely of covers from the soul-heavy Motown and Stax catalogues. Broussard says that he is trying to bring back the feeling because, "Soul music grew out of the church, out of gospel, but somewhere along the way it lost its heart". With a very talented group of musicians, including De Marco Johnson killing the piano and organ, Broussard has kept close to the original arrangements of the songs, giving younger generations the opportunity to experience these classics as they were intended, but feeling as if they are brand new. There is not a weak track here, but one of my most favorite is "Yes We Can, Can", a song you might remember the Pointer Sisters making famous. Broussard seems to channel Harry Connick, Jr. and all the funk of some deep-south soulsters. Two other tracks you can't miss are "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You" (originally by music royalty Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, now a duet with Toby Lightman) and "Let the Music Get Down in Your Soul". Pick up S.O.S and the music will most definitely be "down in your soul". I love it, you will not disappointed.

• You Met Your Match
• If I Could Build My Whole World Around You
• Harry Hippie
• Let the Music Get Down In Your Soul
• I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know
• Inner City Blues ( Makes's Me Wanna Holler)
• Love and Happiness
• I've Been Loving You Too Long
• Respect Yourself
• Yes We Can,Can
• Come in From the Cold