CD Review

The story of Soulive would make a perfect reality TV show. Brothers Alan and Neal Evans along with some white guy with soul, played by Eric Krasno, join together with vintage suits, vintage instruments and some hard funky beats and you get - as drummer Evans would proclaim - “Sooooooool -Live!” Debuting in the late 90s, when every band proclaimed to be redefining funk, Soulive stood out from the rest, and found themselves opening for The Rolling Stones and The Dave Matthews Band, while recently having Mr. Stevie Wonder join them on stage recently for a cover of “Jesus Children of America.”

In the true essence of keeping an old sound new again, Soulive has enlisted a number of very special guests for Break Out, their first release with the Concord Music Group after breaking ties with Blue Note. This time Ivan Neville, Corey Glover, Robert Randolph, Chaka Khan and Reggie Watts lend their talents in the key of soul to the mix. Not to be overlooked, the “Soulive horns,” aka Rashawn Ross (Trumpet), and Ryan Zoidis (tenor and alto saxophones) fatten the lineup to incorporate new shades of funk.

Those new shades are meatier as Neal Evans continues to prove to be one of the nastiest organ players out there, as his left hand works over time playing bass on the Hammond B3. But fireworks aside, Break Out covers much of the same ground as earlier releases like Turn It Out and Next, just with new ingredients. “Reverb,” a tune without a big time guest, is watered down jazz, and the Latin flavored “Cachaca” sounds like Santana on opiates. The guests more or less save the day as Randolph’s pedal steel prowess on “Crosstown Traffic” is jaw dropping and Glover’s big league vocals turn “ Freedom“ into a winner. Khan lets her lady soul fly on “Back Again” and Watts’ contributions to “ She’s Hooked” make for a "feel good" time. Break Out isn’t going to make funk the hot nostalgic fad again, but it will no doubt make you feel “Sooooooool -Live!”