So Goes Love
Somewhere between the urbane sophistication of Nat King Cole and the heartfelt soul of Ray Charles lies the realm of Charles Brown. Brown was in fact heavily influenced by Cole, and if you check out some of Charles's early cuts you'll hear a near-perfect clone of Brown. Although nearly 80, Brown continues to produce music as good as he did when he helped pioneer the rhythm and blues scene in the early '40s. This new album is, not surprisingly, superb. For the most part, Brown sticks to a winning formula of sparse backup, featuring Danny Caron's sultry guitar and Teddy Edwards's smooth sax work.--Lars Gandil