It's difficult to fault Marc Broussard's intentions in releasing this  collection of mostly covers as the follow-up to his 2004 breakthroughCarencro. 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