Sometimes, you just know when something is right. This album from Candi Staton is one of those things. Classy and soulful, this is a reminder of what soul music is all about. Recorded in Nashville, there is a country feel to the proceedings. Not necessarily a bad thing as real country music (as opposed to the hair lacquered perfection that is passed off as country these days) is real close to the blues. Anyway, if it is good enough for Solomon Burke - with his "Nashville" album, if you recall - then it is plenty good enough for Ms Staton.
No matter what the feel of the album is, Ms Staton has a classic southern soul voice that raises the spirit. The title track "His Hands" - written by Will Oldham - is a torch song infused with gospel power. Charlie Rich' s "You Never Really Wanted Me" is handled with respect but the songs that work best are her own compositions, especially "I'll Sing a Love Song to You" and the soul drenched "How Do I Get Over You".
So this is perhaps not quite the album we would have expected. However, we must accept the commercial realities of the record business and an artist has to follow the fashion if she is to get a release. Ignore the sometimes incongruous arrangements as there is no doubting Ms Staton's voice and her ability to make the lyrics real for us all. That is all the encouragement we need to recommend this album.