By Brian Rock
Dynamic Soul slinger, Eli Paperboy Reed gets serious on his eighth album, Getting There. The title reflects a growing maturity. No longer chasing the temporal pleasures of a twenty-something, Reed describes his new sound as “grown folks music.” To emphasize the point, Reed brought in soul legend Swamp Dogg to produce the album. The result is a still passionate, but more nuanced take on life and love. Reed no longer redlines the vocal meters, but he is still one of the definitive voices in the modern Soul renaissance.
Jubilant Memphis horns introduce the album on the first notes of “Every Once In A While.” The rhythm section lays down a classic soul backbeat as Reed sings, “A look or a touch, a wink or a smile; all you gotta do is hold me baby, every once in a while.” Addressing relationships from a more mature perspective, he is no longer looking for quick flings. He’s come to appreciate the subtle, nonverbal communications that keep romance alive. Acknowledging that, “There’s just a few hours we have in each day; if we don’t pay attention, we’ll let our love slip away;” he declares that he’s willing to set aside his own busy agenda, even if just for a moment, to make time for what’s really important in life. The uplifting melody and Reed’s yearning voice show that the flame of love is still burning. But it’s the little, almost subliminal gestures that keep fanning that flame.
“Like We Used To,” is another soulful celebration of lasting love. “One Man’s Trash (Is Another Man’s Treasure,)” evokes the sentiment of Joe Tex’s classic, “Skinny Legs And All.” Reed enlists Zaniah to assist on the lover’s duet, “Love You More.” The song is a soulful synergy of two hearts beating as one. But before arriving at love’s promised land, Reed spent his time wandering in the wilderness. “Sore Loser,” is an Otis Redding inspired blues ballad that finds Reed realizing too late that, “my pride was my only mistake.” Reed evokes Keb Mo on the heartbreaking mellow Soul of “I Can’t Even Walk (Without You Holding My Hand.) “Knock Knock Memories,” find Reed haunted by a love gone wrong. Reed even goes full country on “Asking For A Friend.” Reed’s earnest voice and the accompanying pedal steel would make George Jones proud.
Having wrestled with Cupid and won, Reed contemplates life in existential terms. “Everyone Else,” incorporates subtle New Orleans jazz riffs to ask, “why can’t I be just like everyone else?” Fusing soul and country on, “The Questions,” Reed ponders if, “the ones I love are satisfied with me?’ “Hardworking People,” adds lilting folk rhythms to ask, “how to make a life for yours and mine.” Still searching, Reed confesses, “We don’t know which way to go. I pray that God will let us know.” “Getting There,” offers a glimmer of hope that even if we don’t have all the answers, we may still be making progress. Barrell house piano, a rousing horn section, and slide guitar create a buoyant, optimistic tone as Reed sings, “Watch where you’re going, not where you been. Keep one eye on your enemies, and one eye on your friends. Always look ‘em in the eye, but it’s impolite to stare. That’s it son, you’re getting there.” The advice comes in handy at several stages of his life, until he ultimately passes that same advice to his young daughter. It may not be the fate of us mere mortals to know the answers to life’s biggest questions, but as Eli Paperboy Reed shows, if we work together, we’ve got a shot at “Getting There.”
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Brian Rock
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