Just looking at the cover of this LP by Charles Bradley makes you think that you must have a reissue in your hands. It looks just like a seventies soul album and, when you play it, it sounds like a seventies soul album. Full of grit and, yes, soul, Charles Bradley sweats it up like a man who has lived a hard life and punctuating his musical sentences are the Menahan Street Band. It just wouldn't be soul without a horn section.
It would be of note if any man in his sixties released his debut album but that is the stuff that soul legends are made of. Charles Bradley's bio reflects a hard life but there is no anger in his voice. Instead, he reaches almost devotional heights, such as in "I Believe In Your Love" and it is that "from the heart" approach that will bring in many a friendly ear. Whilst this album may sound like a product of times gone by, that is in itself fashionable today and the difference here is that Charles Bradley sounds like the real thing and not a mere computer programmed recreation by some money grabbing marketing machine.
"How Long" stands out for me as the song as the album. Charles Bradley sings with the power and social conscience of King Heroin period James Brown while the horn section blasts like they had a grudge against the walls of Jericho. Proper 100% pure soul.
Sound quality and pressing quality were fine throughout although no clue could be determined as to who was responsible for the vinyl cut.