The teenaged lead singer for
Thee Midniters and later
Malo revives the "brown-eyed soul" sound he pioneered with his '60s band for this, his first solo release. Recorded in 2000 while in his early fifties,
Little Willie G.'s voice has grown deeper and more expressive through the years. This album -- produced by
Los Lobos'
David Hidalgo -- perfectly frames
Little Willie's vivid vocals, surrounding them with horns, perky Latino percussion, jaunty pianos, and glossy backing singers. As comfortable with smooth R&B-crooning ballads like
Aretha Franklin's "Don't Let Me Lose This Dream" as with the title track's jazzy big band arrangement and the
War-styled East L.A. groove of "It'll Never Be Over for Me" (a remake of an old
Midniters tune), the singer sounds assured yet sensitive on this terrific comeback. The upbeat tunes -- such as a rollicking version of the Parliaments' "I Just Wanna Testify,"
Bobby "Blue" Bland's "These Hands (Small but Mighty)," and the opening "Open the Door to Your Heart" -- all punctuated by staccato horns and easygoing, slinky rhythms, take a back seat to the album's sometimes overly slick, loungy ballads. Thankfully,
Hidalgo keeps the focus on
Willie G.'s warm vocals and subtle phrasing. From the traditional mambo-salsa of "Cultura" -- one of the three originals -- to the uplifting near-gospel of
Bobby Womack's "A World Where No One Cries,"
Little Willie G. shows that the low-ridin' East L.A. R&B sound is alive and well. ~ Hal Horowitz