Soul Sessions presents
Jeff Golub's attempt to recreate the '60s and '70s recording sessions where musicians played live together in the studio rather than the modern way of recording each separately. It makes for a more lively
Golub album than usual and does overcome the overly slick and lifeless production that so many smooth jazz albums suffer from. But it's getting harder and harder to lump
Golub with other smooth jazz artists as his albums become funkier and more soulful affairs than the competition offers. It's difficult not to think of late-period
Wes Montgomery while listening to the opening "Boom Boom," and when
Ricky Peterson's Hammond B-3 shows up here and there it pushes the album into the soul-jazz category.
Soul Sessions mixes in some satisfying pop with a sunny cover of
No Doubt's "Underneath It All," and the
Golub original "Can't Let You Go," with
Mindi Abair and
Journey's
Steve Perry guesting on vocals respectively.
Marc Cohn's vocalizing on
Jesse Winchester's "Isn't That So," and
Luis Conte's focused percussion are also highlights. The album falls prey to smooth jazz's clichés only when saxophonist
Richard Elliot sleepwalks through "Playin' It Cool," and
Abair and
Perry are given nothing more than their respective songs' titles as lyrics. Otherwise, the musicians' interaction is satisfying, but
Golub's discography now just cries out for a live album. ~ David Jeffries